The Runaway Empress: A Retelling
by Amanozako-hime
Summary: "Akashicchi almost killed her." "WHAAAT?" Just when Kagami Taiga had thought that he had already met all of Kuroko Tetsuya's weird friends, another name pops up. Kimiko Akumi. Who is she and why does she seem to be so important? (Adopted and written with the permission and blessing from The Emperor's Empress.)
1. 第1章

**Author's Note:** Yep, you read that right... To all followers of the story **The Runaway Empress** written by **The Emperor's Empress,** the author has already decided to put up all her ongoing fics for adoption and I just happened to adopt this one. As a fellow fan of the story, **The Emperor's Empress** and I had a lengthy discussion about the flaws of the story and I am now tasked to correct them. Important things to note about the edited version of **The Runaway Empress** :

1\. Akashi Seijuurou is no longer heterochromatic (as seen in the anime and the Last Game movie, Akashi reverted to his original ruby eyes when he was defeated in the Winter Cup). And since he had already reverted to Oreshi (aka his original self), he calls everyone by their last names with the proper honorifics (if any) except for Kimiko, who is adamant with having everyone call her by her first name.

2\. Kimiko Akumi's personality. She began to lose her serious and fearsome side at the later chapters, becoming too soft and cheerful which is not supposed to be the way she is. Remember that she is supposed to be the original copy of Bokushi back when they were still in Teikou.

3\. Kise Ryouta's personality. I would be using his darker personality from the manga and not the overly-hyper puppy of the anime. Even Fujimaki-sensei commented that anime!Kise is too soft compared to manga!Kise.

4\. Akashi and Kimiko's relationship development. Everything was a mess at the end, and yes, a couple of reviewers did point out that there was a dissonance between their actions and their feelings, and we want to fix that.

5\. Himuro and Kise's role as rival suitors. Well, I am tempted to make a poll about this one. Like, should they be both Akashi's rivals? Or will Kise remain as Kimiko's protective brother figure (though Midorima seems to be doing a good job over that one...)? Should I give Himuro more of a fighting chance on winning Kimiko's heart? I would gladly welcome all your opinions and suggestions!

6\. Oh, and Kimiko's past. **The Emperor's Empress** told me, albeit in a very vague manner, that there is something with Kimiko's past that is tied with the title of the story, and I am still figuring how I am going to fit that in the story. So I guess, if you want to find out, then you'll have to read the story from Chapter One all over again just to not get confused later on.

That's all for now, I guess.

Any requests, beta volunteers, will be greatly appreciated.

Happy reading!

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **1** **章**

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— **日** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **10** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

 _ **sou onaji michi wo sou aruite kita  
Ah itsukaraka futatsu ni wakarete  
nee kimi wa subete nee wasurete shimau no?  
watashi wa ima demo ano basho de**_

Yes, we were walking, yes, on the same road  
Ah, but our road split into two one day  
Hey, have you forgotten, hey, everything?  
I'm still there

It was a bright summer day, and Kise Ryouta is walking happily down a familiar path, whistling a hopeful tune as he listened to a song from his phone. The song was an old one, back from his middle school days when he still had the time to waste on surfing the Internet and watching videos on the NicoNicoDouga site where anonymous artists post their covers and original songs. This particular artist was a good one, but had stopped posting new videos about a year ago, and it disappointed him greatly, though he never did tire of listening to her old songs, all of which he had faithfully downloaded to his phone so that he can listen to her anytime. Another reason why he loved this particular _utaite_ is that her voice reminds him of a particular person.

The possibility that they are the same person is great; unfortunately, he has no way of confirming that at the moment.

 _Shame. I would give anything for her to come back._

He yawned and rolled his tired shoulders with a tired frown on his handsome face. It was a Sunday, for _kami's_ sake, and he was supposed to be resting after that intense practice with his team yesterday. But nooooo, his manager just had to ask him to come to Tokyo for some important meeting or something; he wasn't really keen on listening when he realized that his rest day is officially compromised. _Ugh, maybe I should have filed for a leave from modeling for a month, or at least until the end of the Nationals. I'll end up overworking myself._

Since he had arrived early, Kise wandered around Tokyo for a bit, and eventually found himself in a front of Maji Burger. Having nothing better to do, Kise entered the establishment and spotted a certain bluenette accompanied by a tall redhead seated at a corner table. Grinning, he called out their names enthusiastically and waved when the two turned their heads to the direction of his voice.

"Oi, Kurokocchi! Kagamicchi! _Ohayou_ -ssu!"

Kuroko Tetsuya, despite his emotionless face, was actually surprised to see the blond. He nodded politely at his energetic friend. " _Ohayou_ , Kise-kun."

Kagami Taiga merely snorted in annoyance, but greeted him nonetheless. "Yo, Kise."

Kise ordered a burger and two milkshakes and joined the two at their table, taking the vacant seat next to the petite bluenette. "Kurokocchi! Here," he slid the other milkshake to the boy, whose eyes twinkled at the sight of his favorite drink, "my treat!"

" _Domo,_ Kise-kun."

The blond merely waved his hand at the bluenette's words and began to unwrap his burger. "It's nothing! Anyways," he stared at the two, "So how was training for the Nationals going so far?"

The red-haired teen shrugged as he swallowed. "It was hell."

Kuroko silently agreed with his partner. Since Seirin had won the Winter Cup, they are automatically placed as participants in the Nationals, which, by the way, was only three weeks away. Because of that, their coach Aida Riko had them go through more intense training that left them with screaming muscles at the end of every session. Despite that, the Seirin team never complained, because they can see the improvements in their skills with each passing day.

Kise can only chuckle at the expressions on the duo's faces. Sympathizing with the two who looked too tired so early on a Sunday morning, he said, "Well, at least you have Sundays off... With Akashicchi's team, I'm sure they had it tougher than us."

This time, Kuroko allowed a ghost of a smile on his lips as he looked up from his milkshake. "'I'm sure they're still running all over Kyoto right now," he commented, remembering how they used to jog all around Tokyo back when they were still teammates in Teikou.

A fond look came in the blond's eyes as he too reminisced the past. A thought came up on him. "Ne, Kurokocchi... Since Akashicchi's back to his usual self, don't you think it would be amazing if she comes back as well? It's been about a year since she left..."

Kuroko looked thoughtful at his words. Kagami, on the other hand, was looking at them with a confused expression on his face, which was like his default expression whenever the _Kiseki no Sedai_ begins to talk about matters that only they can understand.

"What are you talking about, Kise? Who is 'she'?"

It was Kuroko who answered his queries. Replacing his empty cup of milkshake with the one that Kise had given him, he began to explain it as best as he could to his light.

"Aside from Momoi-san, there is another female in our group. Unlike Momoi-san who is more of a ordinary manager and our primary intelligence gatherer, this person's duties is focused on the team's training regimen and was actually the first-string coach of the basketball team in our second year onwards. Actually, she was the one who taught Momoi-san in collecting data about the opposing teams."

"Really?" Kagami was surprised. "So she decided to give Momoi the job because Momoi was better than her?"

Kise shook his head at that. "Not really. Momoicchi is actually kinder than her... She's more like Akashicchi in some ways..."

"Which Akashi?" He can't help but clarify.

"The second one" was Kise's reply.

Kagami found himself biting absentmindedly at the burger in his hands. Just how weird can Kuroko's friends get? Just when he thought that the violent side of Akashi was now subdued, here comes another person which they claimed to be just like Akashi's second personality. It doesn't help either that this person is a girl, which, to Kagami, is more frightening.

"Where is she now, then?"

"We don't know, actually. Like I've said earlier, she just vanished. Momoicchi cannot track her down, Akashicchi too," Kise sighed, then added sadly, "She was the first to leave, you know, not even handing her resignation letter to Akashicchi personally. She just left it on his desk, and POOF! Gone with the wind, just like that."

Kuroko's tone was full of guilt when he added, "She was the first to sense the change that was coming to the team, but no one, not even Akashi-kun, listened to her warnings. It became worse when he changed, too. By then, it was too late to do anything, even more so after what he did to her." The two former Teikou players dropped in a somber mood at the mention of that event.

By now, Kagami was all ears. Not that he liked listening to the past of other people, but in some way, he was interested with those concerning the _Kiseki no Sedai_. Seriously, their lives are as colorful as their hair. Who would have thought that at such a young age, they already had gone through a lot of drama?

Besides, after the Winter Cup, he was sure that he had met the last of them only to be mistaken. There is still a missing member of the _Kiseki no Sedai_ , one that was possibly held in the same pedestal as that flame-haired captain of theirs.

However, the last sentence in the tealhead's statement caught his attention, prompting him to prod his partner for more information.

Kuroko sighed, a long and weary sigh that reverberated in the quiet atmosphere, as if it actually hirt him just to think about it.

In the end, Kise said it for him.

"Akashicchi tried to kill her."

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 **Of course, not a lot of changes in the first chapter. On to the second one!**

 **Oh, please review! That's all I ask! Thank you!**


	2. 第2章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **2** **章**

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— **木** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **7** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Kyoto, Japan ****

 **京都** **、** **日本**

" _Are you defying my orders?"_

" _But Seijuurou, you are being unreasonable!"_

 _There was a crash as her clipboard was thrown carelessly to the hardwood floor, the sound echoing in the silence of Teikou's first string gym. The members can only look on as their captain and their coach argued with each other._

" _Akumi-san, I am fine, there is no need to-" A certain tealhead began to say but he was cut off when the girl glared at him._

" _No, you are not fine!" She was practically shouting by now, but she did not care. She was the coach anyway. She gestured at the other players around them then turned her glare to the heterochromatic captain in front of her. "So what if you no longer need Tetsuya to win your matches? You just can't demote him to third-string just because of that!"_

" _Who are you to say that? As you perfectly know, the time that Tetsuya was needed is long past. He needs to go back to where he truly belongs. He is only a shadow after all. A shadow that ceased to exist when its light became too bright. I have no need for a useless piece," he said in calm voice that was laced with venom._

" _Tetsuya is a human being, not a tool to be used and disposed at your will!" She all but snarled at him, her gold eyes burning with anger. "You all have gone arrogant with your superior abilities! Not only you but the rest of the team as well!" She paused then laughed bitterly at a sudden realization. "Oh wait, you're not even a team anymore. A team is supposed to be made up of members that work together on the court, not compete with one another to see who can score the most points! I don't even get why you bother to play anymore. I suggest that you turn over your jerseys right now and dissolve this joke of a team this instant."_

" _Are you done with your speech?" He drawled, as if he was dealing with an annoying fly. It was obvious that none of her words had made an impact on him, and it only served to anger her further._

" _Mark my words, Seijuurou. That arrogance of yours will cause you your downfall. You will know defeat in a year's time, and when that time comes, I'll be there to laugh at your demise. I'm out of here. Don't expect me to come back." She picked up her clipboard and stormed away, only to be grabbed by the wrist and spun around forcibly. She had no time to react when his hand closed tightly around her throat, cutting off her air. She struggled, dropping the clipboard once more to free both of her hands but she was already weakening from lack of oxygen. Around her, she could hear the other members call out their names in panic, while someone, Midorima, it seemed, tried to stop the redhead but was stopped by a single sentence from their captain._

" _If you come closer, Shintarou, I'll make sure you'll come next."_

" _Akashi-kun!" Only the teal-haired boy was brave enough to lay a hand on their captain but he paid dearly for it. With a thud, he fell to the polished floor when their captain swatted him with his free hand as easily as if he was but a house of cards._

 _By that time she was barely conscious as he did not ease up on his vise-like grip on her neck. Taken by surprise, she had been unable to fight back. The last words she heard before her world turned black was from Akashi himself as he sneered at her powerlessness._

" _My orders are absolute, remember that."_

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Crimson eyes fluttered open as Akashi Seijuurou awoke from his slumber. He gazed at the ceiling for a few moments before looking at the clock on his nightstand. It read 03:16 AM, two hours and a quarter early from his usual wake-up time of 05:00 AM.

After a few failed attempts of going back to sleep, the boy finally gave up and got up from the bed. Slowly, he padded across the carpeted floor and went out to his balcony. It was still dark outside. Stars can still be seen dotting the early morning sky, faint but still visible in the beginning rays of the sun. In the distance, a horse whinnied.

As he stood there, Akashi found his thoughts drifting back to his dream. Sitting on the chair by the railings, he reflected on it with a frown etched on his pretty face.

"Where could you be right now?" he muttered softly to the wind.

It's been a year of hide-and-seek, but she had practically erased her existence in the face of Japan. Akashi had almost considered hiring a private detective to find her but decided against it. That would be taking things overboard, and she would surely take offense to the act. If she did not want to be found, then she would not be found. That means that he can only wait when and if she decide to show herself to them.

Akashi looked at his right hand. Smooth skin, unblemished except for the calluses from years of dribbling a basketball. His fingers can easily be mistaken for that of a pianist, a hand that is regal and elegant-

 _A hand that had almost choked her to death_ , he reminded himself bitterly.

Back then, he remembered looking down at her crumpled figure with disdain as he walked away, even as Midorima and Kise literally swooped down on her to take her to the clinic. Now, however, as he had finally regained his senses, he was ashamed and horrified of how he had treated her that time. If only he can turn back time and do things properly ...

But that would be impossible. Absolute he might be, but the past is something that cannot be rewritten. Even the Emperor Eye can only look forward, not backward. The future is something that can be altered easily with the smallest of actions, but the past is a different matter altogether.

On his final year in Teikou, he had made a lot of mistakes. Sure, he led the team to victor, brought honor to his _alma_ _mater_ , upheld the Akashi's way of excellence and perfection but it seemed to dull in comparison to the 'stupidities', as she had called it in her resignation letter, that he had committed with the awakening of his Emperor Eye.

He enumerated them on his fingers.

One, letting Aomine run wild with that ego of his. It was the catalyst, he knew, the one that started the chain of events that eventually he and the others would come to regret. Not that he was blaming the tanned ace of Touou, but if only he had acted just as she had suggested... But it's too late to do that now, isn't it? Which brings him to the second one.

Ignoring her warnings. His pride had seen to that. He was the captain while she's just a girl playing coach - what can she possibly know more about the team? But that's where he is greatly mistaken. Had he forgotten already? _You're wrong. Once a man completely believed he was right, that he will never err, he was already wrong._ Her sharp wit and intelligence had always rivaled his. Blinded by arrogance, he didn't see the bonds that held the tea together as it snapped right before their very eyes.

Moving on to the third one.

Falling to Murasakibara's taunts. If only he had shut down that purple giant with a glare instead of accepting his challenge, then maybe he wouldn't have allowed his other self to take over But then, he didn't, and look where it took him.

Fourth, disgracing Kuroko. Ah, this one... Although the tealhead had accepted his fate with that blank face of his, Akashi had seen tears fall from his eyes as he turned away to leave the first-string gym. Kuroko had, in a way, been glad to be able to leave, and even after all the things that had happened, Kuroko didn't hold a grudge against him, or anyone else for that matter. If anything, he blamed himself for being unable to do something. It was her, who had retaliated instead, pouncing on him out of nowhere, defending Kuroko and his position in the first string. Which led to the fifth and greatest mistake he'd ever done in his whole life.

He had almost killed her that time. Had he let go of her a minute later, she would have died. But his other self knew perfectly well just how long it takes for a human to faint due to oxygen deprivation, and he had dropped her just in time, tossing her away and turning his back on her like he had just disposed of some trash. He had half a mind to leave her there but Kise and Midorima had already taken her away, with Kuroko in tow.

There are times when Akashi felt like cutting off his right hand.

If he can promise to gouge out his eyes, then cutting off one of his hands is not a big deal, is it?

 _No_ , he thought, getting a hold of himself. The real Akashi Seijuurou would not think like that. It was the Emperor who makes outrageous proclamations like that. Gouging out his eyes would not have given them victory had they lost to Shutoku that time (not that there was a possibility of Rakuzan losing against Midorima's team), just like cutting off his hand would not exactly earn him her forgiveness, if she would even allow him to apologize for his actions. Knowing her, she would just laugh in his face and say, "Why do you think I'll have a need for that bloody hand of yours? Do you want me to have it preserved as a decoration in my room?"

 _Aa, she just might say that._

He closed his eyes with a tired sigh. He missed her sarcastic and snarky remarks on just about everything. When struck by the mood, she will talk in circles to confuse you and more often than not, she would answer your questions with another question. However, there's no denying that she's a really good training manager, even more so as a coach. After all, it was from her that he got the 'training from Hell' as his teammates in Rakuzan calls it.

When he opened his eyes, the sun was already making its slow ascent in the east, bathing the grounds of the Akashi manor in a soft warm yellow light. Birds are already singing their songs to welcome the coming of a new day. Around him, the Akashi residence is slowly coming to life - the maids starting their morning cleaning, the cook preparing breakfast, the gardeners watering the plants...

He slowly rose from his seat. It is almost time for him to start preparing for the day as well. He went through his tasks on autopilot - take a shower, eat breakfast, brush his teeth, get dressed for school - and then he was on his way to Rakuzan High. Inside the limousine, he took out his phone, eyes lingering on the fluffy _kitsune_ charm dangling from it, and began typing the same message he had done ever since she resigned.

 **[To: Kimiko Akumi]**

 _ **07:13AM: Where are you, Akumi?**_

Sending it to the email address that she had used during middle school, he pressed send. Although he wasn't sure whether she still use it or not, he continued sending her messages, like it was already a sort of some ritual.

A small 'ding' confirmed that his message had been delivered. Putting the phone back in his pocket, he closed his eyes and began to meditate.

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— **水** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **6** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Paris, France ****

 **パリ** **、** **フランス**

Somewhere in the other side of the world, a similar sound alerted a golden-eyed girl who was busy fixing her hair in front of a mirror. With a sad smile, she picked up her phone from the table and opened the message, knowing perfectly who it was from and what it said. Sighing, she smiled bitterly and without bothering to reply, she threw the gadget carelessly on the bed and returned to her hair. She clicked her tongue when she noticed that she had not washed the dye completely as she rolled the still ebony colored strand of her hair in her fingers.

She stared at her reflection, and her fingers unconsciously strayed to her neck, tracing the long-gone marks that had been branded into them a year ago. In her mind, they were still there - a mottled black and blue against her pale skin. She put on the red choker that she had worn ever since - a reminder - although why she decided to, she was not particularly sure. She just did.

Pulling her suitcase behind her, she locked the door of her room for the last time. Brushing off the servants who offered to carry her suitcase for her, she walked out of the estate and hailed a cab to the airport, smiling to herself all the while.

It's time for her to come home.

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 **Second chapter done! Have fun finding the subtle yet important changes I've made!**

 **Drop a review please!**


	3. 第3章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **3** **章**

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— **月** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **11** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Kyoto, Japan ****

 **京都** **、** **日本**

Akashi walked into the club room to find Mibuchi Reo singing along to a song that was playing out loud from his phone. Practice had been canceled that day but he and the rest of the regulars - namely, the Uncrowned Generals and Mayuzumi Chihiro - had a habit of going to the clubroom and just hang out. Scanning the room, he could the gray-haired phantom sitting quietly on his usual corner, reading another light novel while Nebuya Eikichi and Hayama Koutarou was arguing about their homework, something about the theory of relativity, it seems.

And all the while, Mibuchi was a having a concert.

Sighing inwardly, he arranged his shoes on the rack by the door. The click of the doorknob alerted the others of his presence and they were quick to shut up and greet him. It was almost funny how their raven-haired shooting guard scrambled to pause the music that he had been singing along to for a good while. Embarrassed that their captain had heard him singing, he smiled nervously and squeaked out a shaky "Ah, Sei-chan...!"

Akashi acknowledged them by returni ng their greetings with a nod and a small smile. "Mibuchi, Nebuya, Koutarou, Mayuzumi-san." The last person mentioned gave him a tiny glare in annoyance. Mayuzumi had been insisting him to just call him without the honorifics (he'd been horrified when Akashi had first called them _senpai_ ) and while Akashi was fine to call the second-years by just their last names, the honorific attached to Mayuzumi's name stayed, to Mayuzumi's great irritation.

"Tsk."

The smile on the redhead's face turned mischievous for a moment. He settled on another low table and began taking out his homeworks from his bag. "Please continue with what you are doing. And Mibuchi, don't worry. I brought my earplugs."

That did it. Mibuchi wailed just like a certain blond from his Teikou days was prone to do. "So mean, Sei-chan...! And here I thought you were going to compliment on my voice...!"

A crumpled sheet of paper came sailing towards his head. "Shut up, Mibuchi."

Mibuchi whirled to glare at Nebuya before picking up the ball of paper on the floor and throwing it back to its owner. It hit Nebuya square in the face. "You shut up, you brute. How dare you hit a lady in the head, anyway?"

Nebuya looked around the room as if he was searching for something. Mibuchi followed suit, confused. Their muscled center peered under the table and even lifted the books on their table, going as far as to turn his pants' pockets inside out. "Lady? What lady are you talking about? There's no lady here."

Hayama snickered and dodged out of the way as their feminine shooter, realizing that he had been tricked, tossed his indoor shoes at Nebuya, who yelped in pain as each one hit him in the face. "Oww! Oww! Oi, Mibuchi, quit it!"

With a smug look on his face, Mibuchi crossed his arms proudly in front of him. "That's what you get for insulting a lady." He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Such insensitivity..." He clutched his chest melodramatically. "It pains my delicate heart to even think of it..."

Off to the side, Akashi watched the scene before him with amusement. It made him recall something. Suddenly, he found himself back to the locker room in Teikou, surrounded by his former teammates, who was up to their daily antics.

" _Mou, Aominecchi~" Kise wailed to the tanned teen who was trying his best to evade the crying blond._

" _Oi, Kise! Do you have to be so noisy? And no, Murasakibara, don't you dare eat that! That is my lucky item for the day and_ OhaAsa _says that-"_

" _Who cares about your stupid horoscopes?"_

" _Aomine!"_

" _Eh~ But it looks delicious, Mido-chin... And I'm hungry... Kuro-chin, do you have more snacks?"_

" _I'm sorry, Murasakibara-kun, but that was the last lollipop I have."_

" _Ha? Is that so? Ne, Aka-chin, do you have snacks?"_

" _Murasakibara, you've eaten too much snacks for today."_

" _Hm... If Aka-chin says so~"_

" _For the nth time, Kise, I don't care about your photobook!"_

" _So mean, Aominecchi~! Ah, Kurokocchi-"_

" _You're annoying, Kise-kun."_

" _Eh?! Even you, Kurokocchi? Why are you all so mean to me?"_

" _Shut up, Kise! I can't concentrate! Akashi, make them shut up!"_

" _Are you ordering me, Midorima?"_

" _...N-no, of course not!"_

" _Good."_

" _..."_

 _In the midst of their chaos, the door to locker room slammed open, startling everyone inside. A fuming chartreusette entered, followed by a smiling pink-haired girl carrying a medicine kit._

" _Just what is this ruckus all about?" she demanded, her gold eyes flashing dangerously._

" _Hi guys," the pinkette behind her greeted at the same time. This earned her a sharp glare from the girl before her. She flinched. "_ Gomen, gomen! _"_

" _I'm getting angry here, Satsuki. Can't you see that?" She didn't wait for the girl's reply as she rounded in on the boys. "Ryouta, I can hear your voice all the way from the clubroom. Atsushi, stop eyeing Shintarou's chocolate bar - you are making him nervous and we don't want to have our three-point shooter to go insane just because you ate his lucky item. Daiki, Tetsuya, can't you just humor that idiot just to shut him up? Geez... And Seijuurou, seriously? You're just standing there enjoying yourself while they make fools of themselves?" She pressed her fingers on her temple. "And to think that we have a game today..." she muttered, then turned to the girl behind her. Glaring at Momoi, she ranted, "And you of all people had to forget to go to the meeting... I was the one who got chewed at in your place!"_

 _With Coach Shirogane at the hospital, the position of head coach was given to Sanada Naoto, while Kimiko had to oversee the daily needs of the first-string as their coach. It didn't help that ther former captain was absent, as well. Raising an eyebrow expectantly at the people in the room, she crossed her arms in front of her._

" _Well?"_

" _Gomen, Kumi-chin~"_

" _I'm sorry, Akumicchi! I won't be so loud anymore!"_

" _Sorry, Akumi. But this idiot is too annoying."_

" _Well, it's Murasakibara's fault..."_

" _It was amusing to watch."_

" _It won't happen again, Akumi-chan..."_

 _The girl sighed at their apologies and excuses. "You're all impossible." Everyone grinned at that - well, not everyone. Akashi smirked. Midorima pushed his glasses up his nose, eyes closed as he hid his smile behind his hand. Kuroko had his head turned away from everyone, though his shoulders shook a little in silent laughter. The rest grinned like crazy. Resigned, the girl blew a puff of air at a lock of hair that strayed too close to her eyes. "Hmp. Anyway, guys," she smiled this time, her anger gone in a blink of an eye. They gathered round her, placing their hands above her outstretched one. "Teikou-"_

 _As one, they shouted, "FIGHT!"_

"-an? Sei-chan?"

Akashi blinked, and he was back to the present. He eyed the hand that was waving back and forth in front of his face. It disappeared, only to have it placed on his forehead, then on his neck. He swatted it away.

"Are you okay, Sei-chan? You've been quiet for a while now..." Mibuchi said with concern in his voice.

"I'm fine, Mibuchi." He focused back on his algebra assignment, solving them with ease. "And silence is not a sign that something is wrong with a person. Just because you are noisy does not mean that I have to join you in your ruckus. Why not check on Mayuzumi-san too? He's been quiet like me."

Mibuchi was about to do just that when Mayuzumi growled out a warning from behind his book. "Don't you dare come near me, Mibuchi. If someone needs a check-up, it's you. Akashi, you do not have to encourage him further."

Akashi smirked and was about to say something when Hayama suddenly said, "Ne, ne, Captain, I have a question!"

He turned to the hyper blond. "Yes, Hayama?"

"What is relativity?"

At that, the redhead sighed, already knowing where this is heading. "Are you even listening to your lessons?" he asked.

"Of course! But I really don't get it..." Hayama scratched his head sheepishly.

"Mibuchi, teach him," but the shooting guard also looked clueless about it.

"Ano, Sei-chan... The truth is I don't quite get it as well... Mayu-chan had tried explaining it to us but I fail to see how Goku and Co. riding a spaceship on the hunt for Dragonballs fits the picture."

Akashi saw Mayuzumi shrug. He turned to the three hopeless sophomores before him and gave a resigned nod.

And so it was that Akashi Seijuurou, a freshman at Rakuzan High, spent the rest of his afternoon tutoring his three upperclassmen about Einstein's theory of relativity.

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	4. 第4章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **4** **章**

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— **日** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **10** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

Momoi Satsuki sat in front of the computer, totally absorbed in her work that she didn't notice her childhood friend approach and tug at her hair lightly. She swiveled in the office chair that she'd been sitting on and found one Aomine Daiki looking like he hadn't done a thing.

"Dai-chan! What are you dong here?"

The tanned boy growled in annoyance. "I told you not to call me that! We are not kids anymore! And I sent you a message to tell you that I am coming over but it seems that you've been ignoring your phone. What's keeping you busy anyway? We don't have homework, do we?" He squinted at the words on the monitor of the pinkette's computer. His eyes brightened in realization as he read the name on the search box. Bracing his arms on top of the backrest of the chair, he watched from above her head, her fingers flying fast over the keyboard as she tried to hack in a network's database. After a moment's silence, he asked, "So, found anything about her?"

The pinkette shook her head, eyes not leaving the screen. "Akumi-chan left no trace. The only thing I've confirmed so far is that she hasn't changed her email address and number, but she won't reply to any of my messages and she'd even blocked all of our old numbers. I tried calling her using a different number but it all went to voice mail. I don't think that she's in Japan to begin with."

There was a pause before Aomine sighed and said in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. "She's that mad at us, huh?" His gaze landed on a frame on top of Momoi's dresser. It was a picture taken during the summer festival in Kyoto, where they all had stayed at their captain's guest house during the rest of the summer vacation for their training. The first-string had an exclusive summer camp at Mount Atago, and the festival was just an added bonus. Dressed in _yukatas_ , six boys and two girls posed for the camera, all showing varying degrees of happiness on their faces.

"...I don't think so," Momoi said slowly. "Akumi-chan might be downright cruel when she's doing her job as the coach, but she's not one to forget. Maybe she's just waiting for us to realize the mistakes we've done in the past. You know her, she'd rather have us wounded to know if a knife was sharp or not instead of just telling us directly. Something about experience being the best teacher..." She giggled. "Reminds me of something though..."

"Sh-shut up!" Aomine snapped, cursing the girl for bringing _that_ up again. "How was I to know that that was a trap for a wild boar?"

By then, Momoi was laughing so hard, tears were forming in her eyes. She pointed at Aomine, who, had his skin been lighter in color, would have been blushing beet red in embarrassment. "It was fun watching you hanging upside down from a tree, though... And what's with that girlish scream?"

"You would scream too if you were in my position!"

"At least I am a girl..."

"Argh! Just quit it already!"

Deciding that she had teased her childhood friend enough, she stopped herself from mentioning more of Aomine's embarrassing moments in life, like that time when they joked about a bee chasing him, and turned off her computer. Enough of trying to find their elusive friend for the time being. Right now, she had to accompany her childhood friend outside.

"To the bookstore, I suppose?" she asked, tying her hair up in a ponytail.

Aomine's foul mood vanished. "Aa. Let's go."

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Down in the storage room of the Midorima's two-story house, Midorima Shintarou was hard at work arranging his collection of lucky items in an orderly fashion on the shelves that his parents had provided for him. The items had piled up over the years that they can't fit in his room anymore. After much discussion, he finally agreed to move them here at his mother's suggestion.

He was arranging them in chronological order, based on the dates taped at the back of each item. There were some gaps, of course, as there are times when his lucky items are organic or edible items, or when it was a borrowed item, and on the rare occasions when he was unable to procure his lucky item of the day. Good thing that _Oha Asa_ always has a back-up plan of sorts when that happens. Like that time when he didn't have the time to find his lucky item for the day because Teikou had a game that day...

" _Shintarou! Get up from your seat this instant!" The girl tugged on his arm, but he refused to budge. "I said, get up!"_

" _I can't. I refuse to play today - Cancers are ranked third from the bottom and-"_

 _The girl huffed and stopped pulling his arm, then sighed in frustration. "Why are you so obsessed with horoscopes anyway?" It was a rhetorical question, but when Midorima was about to launch into his explanation about Fate and all that, she cut him off with a more pressing question._

" _What am I going to tell Seijuurou about this though?"_

" _He'll understand." It was true - their captain had always tolerated and sometimes even accommodated his teammates' quirks, including his superstitious beliefs, allowing him to skip practice or even go home early. However this is the first time that it happened on a day of an official match._

" _But Ryouta's away on his stupid photoshoot and Tetsuya cannot play a whole game and we can't play with just four people! The line-up was submitted two days ago and Coach Sanada had specifically chosen the second-years for this game!"_

" _That's why Kuroko is no good," he muttered under his breath, only to get a slap on the arm._

" _Don't say that about Tetsuya!" The girl glared at him. "So, what now? Seijuurou might accept your reasoning but I doubt that Coach Sanada will. What did your horoscope told you about your fate for today?"_

 _Midorima closed his eyes. "Oha Asa said that I have to be extra careful around Geminis as they are bound to get me in trouble with a Sagittarius. My lucky item is a necklace with a dream catcher pendant. Being with a Leo or a Pisces helps lessen the damage if I can't have my lucky item."_

 _Gold eyes brightened as she clapped her hands. "It's settled then! You're coming with me! Ryouta is not around so you're safe with Seijuurou. Up, up!" She tugged at his arm again._

" _B-but I don't have my lucky item yet!" he protested as he tried to keep his balance when she tried to tip the chair over._

" _Baka! I'll be your lucky item for today! Be thankful that I am a Leo, now get up already or I'll change my zodiac sign to that of a Gemini and feed you to Seijuurou's wrath!"_

 _He didn't need any more encouragement after that._

 _They won, 103-89._

He paused for a while, thinking. A year had passed without contact from their lime-haired manager, and though he won't admit it, Midorima was worried. He was still feeling guilty for being a coward that day, how a single glare from Akashi froze him on his feet. But then again, who wasn't afraid of that side of Akashi?

That's right. No one.

No one but her.

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"Muro-chin~ Do you know how to play that?" Murasakibara Atsushi pointed at a game in the arcade where he and his friend Himuro Tatsuya had visited during his hunt for snacks. The purple giant had heard that there was a new flavor of chips that can only be won in that game, and he had come to see if he can obtain it.

The dark-haired returnee craned his head above the crowd. "Which one, Atsushi?"

"That one~" Murasakibara replied.

Himuro followed his line of sight. His partner was pointing at the Guitar Hero game. Now, Himuro is a decent singer, but he's no instrumentalist, and he's not really into arcade games, so although he hates to disappoint, he had to be honest about it. "Well, I don't play the guitar, Atsushi. Maybe another one?"

"Is that so?" Murasakibara sounded sad. Well, it can't be helped. He doesn't know how to play it either. That means he'll have to come back another day, preferably with Kise or Akashi. The blond will know how to play the game perfectly, while Akashi can either do that or just directly approach the manager of the arcade and ask for the chips. If only the two were still in Tokyo. He then remembered his usual partner-in-crime in middle school. "If only Kumi-chin was here..." he mumbled dejectedly.

"Kumi-chin?" Himuro perked up at the name. Murasakibara had mentioned it a few times before, but he had yet to get an explanation, especially when the purple-haired center was always singing praises about this 'Kumi-chin' person. "Who is Kumi-chin, Atsushi?"

The two went out of the arcade and into a sweets shop when Murasakibara complained that he was too hungry to tell him about Kumi-chin. Thus, Himuro had to bribe the boy with food if he want answers. Murasakibara could have just said "Oh, he's a former teammate" or "He's a friend" but he didn't, and that meant that whoever this Kumi-chin is, he is one of the important people in Murasakibara's life, like the members of the _Kiseki no Sedai._

Come to think of it, 'Kumi-chin' could be a 'she' for all he knew.

Turns out he was right. As their order of hot chocolate and a variety of muffins and cookies were laid out on their table, Murasakibara's opening words were "She's my coach in Teikou~"

Himuro nodded his head, encouraging him to continue. It was a slow process, as the boy was busy eating, and he tends to drawl out his words. But as they finally rode the train back to Akita, the mirage shooter was able to glean the following information.

One, 'Kumi-chin' is a girl, and her full name is Kimiko Akumi (trust Murasakibara to omit a syllable in a person's name), and had a habit of telling people to call her using her first name (because apparently, that's what she uses when referring to other people.)

Two, she is quite a beauty, if Murasakibara's judgment was to be trusted. Himuro had seen their pink-haired manager who was quite a stunner as well, and when he brought her up for comparison, Murasakibara had promptly declared that "No, she's prettier than Sa-chin." According to him, this Kumi-chin is shorter than Aka-chin, but just as, if not more, scary than the redhead ( _...okay...? And to think that Himuro thought that she is a sweet, little girl.._.), and that her eyes are colored like the shiny wrappers on those chocoballs ( _He can just say that her eyes were golden, right?_ ), only more pretty and just as shiny, and that her hair is long and smells like lemons and oranges, and its color is like...( _here, Murasakibara took his time looking for something to associate her hair color with_ ) that! ( _he pointed to the icing of a cake on display, which Himuro realized was a bright lime-green, by the way._ ) Trust Murasakibara to use food as basis for everything.

Three, she is somewhere the _Kiseki no Sedai_ does not know, not even the seemingly omniscient Akashi Seijuurou. Apparently, something happened during their last year in middle school that caused her disappearance ( _Murasakibara won't tell him the details though, just that he hated the 'other' Aka-chin for that_ ) and that led to their current problem of having to search for her, to no avail.

 _So this is what Taiga had been blabbing about on the phone a few days ago,_ he thought. Something about a missing member of the _Kiseki no Sedai_ who was the female version of the 'other' Akashi. "Good thing she's not a player," his surrogate brother had said, his voice trembling slightly. "I'm not looking forward to meeting another demon from Hell, thank you very much. Once is enough."

Himuro laughed. Who could forget about the fateful meeting of the two redheads during the Winter Cup? He was not there but based on Kagami's and Murasakibara's narration of the events that had transpired outside the gymnasium, it was quite a memorable one.

He wondered about this new person. Kimiko Akumi. Her name alone was interesting. Now, this was one person that Himuro would dare to meet face-to-face.

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	5. 第5章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **5** **章**

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— **月** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **11** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Kanagawa, Japan ****

 **かながわ** **、** **日本**

Kasamatsu Yukio was in the process of tuning his guitar when his annoying kouhai by the name of Kise Ryouta decided to bother him. He was currently staying in one of the vacant classrooms in the upper floors of Kaijou's academic buildings. His class for the fourth period was a freecut, and all of his classmates were loitering around the campus, savouring their last months in high school. Graduation is fast approaching and even though it's still a good two months and a half away, Kasamatsu can already feel it in his bones. Soon, he will be leaving all this behind him as he heads to another chapter of his life - University. The upcoming Nationals, which was much delayed due to the Winter Cup, will be his last tournament as the captain of Kaijou's basketball team. Being the fourth placer in last month's tournament, they were automatically chosen to represent the Kanagawa prefecture, where they will go against 46 other teams from all over Japan.

Having said that, Kasamatsu was hoping for some peace and quiet with his guitar before he goes back to the noisy world inside the gym later this afternoon. However, he did not expect Kise to seek him out.

"What do you want, Kise?" He asked. He was perched on the edge of the teacher's table, legs crossed, the waist of the guitar resting on his right thigh as he adjusted the pitch of the strings until they seemed right to his ear. Kise was fortunately (or unfortunately) being his uncharacteristic self today. He sat on one of the chairs in the front row, a little to Kasamatsu's right. The blond was frighteningly quiet as he contented himself with watching his captain tinker with the instrument. This unnerved Kasamatsu, though, as he was unused to seeing Kise with such a serious expression on his face off the court and so he asked in his usual brash voice:

"Oi, Kise, did you eat something bad?"

Amber eyes blinked at the sudden question. "Eh? What do you mean, Kasamatsu-senpai?"

Kasamatsu's eyes narrowed even as he strummed a couple of chords experimentally. Even the the cheer was gone from Kise's normally chirpy voice. What happened?

Kise seemed to caught on, as he tried to act his bubbly personality only to fail horribly. Every laugh, every smile was obviously fake, Kasamatsu can tell.

"If you don't feel like it, then don't do it," he scolded his _kouhai._ "I'm not telling you to pretend that you are happy." Kasamatsu felt slighty insulted at the look of surprise on the blond's face. Did he honestly expect him to buy it? "What I want to know is why you're being gloomy all of a sudden. Did something happen?"

Kise blinked a few times, then turned his head away from the older boy. "Ah, _senpai,_ it's nothing. You see, one of my fans-"

"You're lying. If you're going to lie, then just get the hell out of here," he growled.

There was a few moments of tense silence as both males stared at each other. Kise then let out a breath of frustration and raised his hands in surrender.

"Fine. I just remembered something, okay?"

Kasamatsu raised an eyebrow at that, and Kise began to elaborate.

"It's just, you know, graduation and all...the upcoming Nationals... This is about Teikou, sure you want to listen, _senpai?_ "

Kasamatsu never liked it when Kise talked about his middle school team. He did not like the reverence in the boy's tone or the almost illogical bond he shared with his former teammates that Kise did not have with his present team. However, this time, Kasamatsu felt like Kise needs someone to listen to him this time, so he nodded to give his permission to the blond to start speaking.

"You've already seen the rest of the _Kiseki_ , right?" He counted them on his fingers. "There's Kurokocchi, Midorimacchi, Aominecchi, Momoicchi, Murasakibaracchi, and Akashicchi... Well, Kurokocchi and Momoicchi are not really considered as a Miracle, but we consider them as part of us, anyway, so yeah... But there's one more that you haven't seen yet."

That got Kasamatsu's attention. "Oh? Who's he?"

Kise shook his head. "She's a girl, and her name is Kimiko Akumi."

 _Another girl?_ "Ah, another manager, then?"

Again, Kise shook his head. "Nope. Akumicchi was the first-string coach. When they were in first year, Akumicchi was more of a training manager, but when Coach Shirogane was hospitalized, Akumicchi was the one who took over and looked after the team. Akumicchi is an awesome coach. But then, we began to change, and everntually, there's no longer a need for her since we can just defeat our opponents easily due to the sheer skill difference between our team and that of our opponent, so like Kurokocchi and Momoicchi, she too faded into the background. It was after our last Nationals tournament that she and Akashicchi had an argument where she almost died, so she resigned the club and we never saw her again after that."

Kise was speaking so fast that Kasamatsu swore that he had misheard that one. Frowning, he said, "Come again? She and Akashi had an argument where she...?" He looked at the blond to continue where he left off.

"Almost died, so she resigned the club and we never saw her again," Kise finished without missing a beat.

Kasamatsu swore that something was wrong with his hearing. "Come again?"

Kise pouted but repeated his words. "Almost died, so she resigned the club and we never saw her again." And then he complained. " _Senpai,_ are you even listening?"

"Well, I kept hearing 'almost died'! Speak clearly, you _baka!_ " Kasamatsu yelled.

"But that's exactly what I said! Akumicchi almost died because of Akashicchi!"

The older male stopped plucking the strings in his surprise. "What?! Jut how crazy is that short captain of yours?!"

Kaijou's ace looked around the room frantically. There is no knowing if Akashi had some sort of a bug planted somewhere that can relay this conversation to him. "Don't call him that, _senpai!_ That's a taboo word!"

He snorted. "He's not here!"

"It's better to be safe than sorry!"

"Fine!" Seeing the scared look on his _kouhai'_ s face, Kasamatsu gave up. Logic and reason just seems to fly out the window when one Akashi Seijuurou comes into the mix. Back to the original issue. "What do you mean 'almost died'?"

Kise was pulling at the cuffs of his shirt. "Oh you know," he drew a line across his neck with his thumb, then tilted his head to one side as if his neck was broken, "that."

It was all Kasamatsu could do to keep himself from smashing his guitar on Kise's head. Instead, he resorted to a piece of chalk he found on the table and threw it hard at the blond.

" _Itai!_ " the blond wailed. "What did I do this time?"

"I know what 'die' means! I am not an idiot, you idiot!" Okay, so they've been unnecessarily loud, as they've been yelling at each other for quite some time now, but hey, this is Kise that he's talking to, who was probably the most infuriating being on earth ( _in his opinion_ ), so who wouldn't find themselves yelling at him? "What I mean is how that happened!"

Kise winced at Kasamatsu's volume. He covered his ears with his hands and yelled back, "You don't have to shout, Kasamatsu- _senpai!_ "

"Says the one who wasn't yelling either!"

"Fine!" _So Kasamatsu-senpai wants to shout. Fine._ "He choked her! Akumicchi got mad when Akashicchi said that he is going to demote Kurokocchi to third string and she won't obey his orders so Akashicchi got mad and he choked her until she fainted and then-and then she resigned the following day and we can't find her up until now and I want to see her and- Oww! What now?!"

Kasamatsu had thrown the eraser at him out of the blue. Thankfully, it was not fully covered in chalk dust. Kise stood up, dusting off his hair, then sat back down.

Seeing that Kise had finally quieted down, Kasamatsu spoke in a normal voice. "So, why did you suddenly remember her?"

A melancholy look passed on Kise's handsome face. He stared at the instrument in his captain's arms. "I remembered her because... you'll be graduating soon, right? Akumicchi... we didn't saw her during graduation. I don't know how she did it, but her name was still called during the ceremony. I went to her house the day she resigned from the club but she was already gone, and I don't know who to ask about her whereabouts. I was unable to say sorry nor thank her for everything she's given me. She was the one who encouraged me to stick to basketball. I haven't even fulfilled my promise to take her to one of my photoshoots and let her experience what it's like being a model. And oh, that reminds me, she plays the guitar too! And she's a really good singer as well!" Kise was smiling now, reminiscing happier memories. Chin on his palm, he looked up at Kasamatsu. "Ne, _senpai,_ how about a song?"

Kasamatsu was taken aback by the sudden request. "Ha? Wh-what-Why would you think that i would sing for you?" _And why did it ended up this way?_

"Please, _senpai?_ Just this once?" Kise put on his best puppy eyes, and unfortunately for Kasamatsu, they were effective.

"Okay, okay, now quit making those eyes!" At his agreement, Kise straightened up and watched him excitedly. _Just add in some ears and a wagging tail, and you got yourself a perfect dog,_ Kasamatsu thought to himself. Reaching for his capo, he put it on the first fret and pluck the first notes. It rang clearly in the empty room save for its two occupants.

" _Kimi to Kare to Boku to Kanojo_ (You, He, Me, and She)," he said, and he saw that Kise recognized the song as well. Taking a deep breath, he began to sing.

 **Au tabi ni mune ga itai riyuu nara wakatteiru**

 **Kore ijou awanai to mamoreru hazu nai yakusoku**

 _Everytime we meet, there's an ache inside me, and i know the reason why that is happening_

 _If you tell me that we can no longer meet, that's a promise that I will never ever keep_

 **Hoka no dare ni mo hanasenai koto naze da ka subete hanasechaunda**

 **Kimi no mae de wa ichiban jiyuu de irareru**

 _The things I could never speak to anybody, why is it that I can tell you pretty much everything?_

 _When I am in front of you i feel that i am completely free_

 **Maichiru sakura no hanabira mo furitsumu fuyu wo tsugeru yuki mo**

 **Tonari de boku to miteita no wa kimi datta ne**

 **Kimi to kare to boku to kanojo to**

 **Futatsu no isu naraba minna wa suwarenai soredemo**

 _The scatter of the cherry blossom petals, and the piled snow that indicates winter_

 _It was you who was seeing the whole thing right next to me_

 _You and he, me and she, we can't all sit in two chairs, but even so_

 **Suki da yo hoka no dare yori mo ne suki da to wakatteru ne kimi mo**

 **Ichiban boku no soba ni itsudzukete kureta yo**

 **Kimi to kare to boku to kanojo**

 **Minna ga motto shiawase de are inoru yo my mind**

 _I love you more than anyone out there, and i know that you love me deeply as well_

 _I know that much because of the fact that you are always right next to me_

 _In my mind i pray that you and he, me and she_

 _All four of us will be even happier than ever before, my mind._

"Kasamatsu _-senpai_ is amazing, _"_ Kise said, just after the last note died out into silence once more. Just then the bell rang, signalling the end of the break time.

Kise stood up to go as Kasamatsu dismissed him with a curt nod.

"Hurry up or you'll be late for your class!"

"Hai, hai!" Kise answered cheerfully before dashing out of the room, but not before one final smile and a wave of his hand. Pausing in the doorway, he said, "I meant what I said earlier, _senpai._ You really are amazing! And you have a very good voice even though you always yell at me!" He ran away before Kasamatsu could react.

"Shut up, Kise!" Kaijou's captain roared from inside the room as Kise's laughter echoed in the hallways in response. And then, that too, faded away to nothing.

Alone again, Kasamatsu smiled to himself. _What an idiot._

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	6. 第6章

**Author's Note:** The Teikou players that Kimiko trained were given names in this chapter, and added conversations... Yeah.

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **6** **章**

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— **木** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **7** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

Kimiko Akumi woke up as the plane landed in Tokyo International Airport hours later. Stepping on Japanese soil once more made her smile. On her way to her old home, she felt unusually happy that she even chatted quite a bit with the cab driver, pleased to converse with someone in her native language.

The house was just the way she left it, having had someone look after it for all those months that she was away. The electricity and water were already restored, the refrigerator and the cupboards stocked with a month's worth of food and drinks. Feeling not the slightest bit of tiredness, she unpacked her luggage - just a few clothes and other souvenirs from France. The rest of her belongings had already arrived ahead of her and the housekeeper had already seen to them. She proceeded on making dinner - plain old curry - to satisfy her hunger.

The rhythmic sound of the knife as she chopped the vegetables calmed her nerves. She had been thinking of how she was going to face them again. Truth be told, she was somewhat nervous, not that she'd say that out loud. She was fine with meeting them, well, except for him, perhaps.

She doesn't know what to expect from him anymore.

 _Ne, Tetsuya, have you already fulfilled your promise? It's been a year..._

She sat alone at the head of the big dining table, a plate full of rice topped with curry in front of her. She ate absentmindedly, shoveling spoonful after spoonful of food into her mouth as her thought wandered back to the past. In that very same table, Kuroko Tetsuya had come and made a promise, an oath.

 _Teikou's phantom sixth man sat next to her in that enormous dining table that had been the witness to all of their team dinners held at Kimiko's house. Earlier that day. Kimiko had fainted courtesy of Akashi. Kuroko came to see her that evening, and had caught her preparing her resignation letter that she will be dropping off at the clubroom tomorrow. Kuroko's face was full of remorse when he caught a glimpse of the red choker around her slender neck, hiding the bruises that he was sure would be there._

" _Akumi-san, I apologize for causing you trouble. You got hurt because of-"_

" _Tetsuya, what I did and what he did is not your fault. I acted against him, and he reacted accordingly. He was no longer the Seijuurou we knew - he's a completely different person, someone that had taken over when Seijuurou was threatened with the prospect of defeat when he faced off against Atsushi. They all changed - I no longer knew them."_

 _Kuroko nodded in understanding. His eyes hardened with resolve. "I know what I have to do now. I'm not sure how I am going to do it but I promise to bring them back. Give me one year, Akumi-san, and I promise, I'll bring them back - the ones we used to know. I promise."_

 _A soft smile graced her lips as she looked at the kindhearted boy next to her. "A shadow that will become their light..." she said thoughtfully. "Just be careful, Tetsuya, that you will not stray off the path. Humans have this tendency to forget the ambitions they set out with, and corrupt themselves to no end."_

" _I won't, Akumi-san. I'll be careful."_

" _Then, I'll give you my trust. Until then, Tetsuya."_

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— **土** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **9** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

After days of hiding in her room, Kimiko decided to go out for a light jog in the park near her home. It was a nice Saturday morning, a bit chilly since it was still winter, but there was no snow covering the ground. She knew she was deliberately postponing their confrontation for as long as she could, but she knew that it is inevitable. Fate had already decreed it.

After an hour of jogging, she sat contentedly on one of the park benches, near the streetball court where a team of young boys were playing a game quite loudly. She watched with amusement as one of them slip through the double-team on him and did a tricky lay-up. It reminded her of a certain tanned boy. Wanting to observe the game closely, she decided to stand up and go to the court itself for a clearer view.

She had been standing there at the entrance for a few minutes unnoticed. As one of them made a three-pointer, the ball bounced and came to a stop near her, and that was when the boys saw her.

They stared at her with curiosity, and one of them piped up. " _Nee-_ san, would you mind throwing that ball - Oww! What was that for?"

The one who smacked him on the head glared at him then said, "Are you seriously asking her to pick the ball for you? You crazy or what?"

Amused at their bickering, she bent and picked up the worn-out basketball in her hands and dribbled it a few times, earning surprised looks from her audience. Ignoring them, she ran Midorima's advice on shooting three-pointers and aimed for the hoop, smirking as the ball passed through the ring without grazing it. Eyes wide, the group of four teens looked at her in amazement while one of them ran to retrieve the ball.

"Woah! _Nee-san_ knows how to play basketball! _Sugee na!_ "

"Amazing! How did you do that, _nee-san?_ "

"And she's outside of the court, too!"

Kimiko smiled at their words. How nice it was, the innocence of youth. Her eyes then caught sight of the familiar white and blue jacket slung over the bags lined on one side of the court.

"Hey, are you guys from Teikou?" She asked, even though she already knows the answer.

"How did you know that, _nee-san?_ " They were now looking at her a bit weirdly, as if she's a supernatural being or something.

She pointed at their jackets.

"Oh," the boys said. The one with curly slate-colored hair said, "Aa, we're from Teikou, and we're members of the basketball club." He frowned lightly. "We're still in second string, though."

"We're training to get to first string, but man, Coach Shirogane is such a hard ass!" the one with coffee-brown hair complained.

Kimiko perked up at the name. "Shirogane- _kantoku?_ He's back?"

"Eh?" Although confused, the brown haired boy nodded in answer. " _Hai_. He returned last October, if I'm not mistaken."

The boy with the chin-length magenta hair who had been staring at her for quite some time now stepped forward, then faced his friends as he jerked his chin at her. "Doesn't she look familiar to you guys?"

The moment the girl made that shot, he had known exactly just who she is. He'd cleaned the clubroom so many times and he was certain that the person in the picture frame on the middle shelf - the one that Coach Shirogane had a duplicate of in his office table - and this person in front of him is one and the same. There's no mistaking that bright lime-green hair and golden eyes, the girl who managed to stood out in the midst of the famed _Kiseki no Sedai._

The others looked at his expectant face, then back at the girl who was smirking playfully as she raised her chin at their friend. Suddenly, as if they'd been clubbed in the head, they chorused, "Oh, right! It's HER!"

Kimiko finally laughed. "You caught me. Is it because of the hair?" she joked.

The boy pointed at her and crowed smugly. "I knew it was you, Kimiko- _senpai!_ "

" _Senpai?_ " Kimiko grinned at that. "What's your name, _kouhai?_ "

The boy grinned and proudly introduced himself. "I am Matsuoka Hiro, and I am a point guard." He pointed at his gaping friends. "This guy with rusty hair is Kazami Hisoka. The one with stormy gray hair is Hitsugaya Kenshin, and the one with the brown ponytail is Minazuki Arata. They are all forwards."

Kimiko quickly caught on on why Matsuoka was telling her about their positions. She had, after all, made a name for herself in Teikou and in the basketball scene before the _Kiseki no Sedai_ did. "Fine. I'll train you. I need you to go through a quick assessment test first, and then we'll go from there."

The four boys nodded readily and performed the drills that Kimiko told them to do while she watched them with a sharp eye, taking note of their strengths and weaknesses. She barked order after order, and they followed them without a single complaint. When they were done, they gathered around Kimiko as she relayed her observations to them. She was blunt with her words and never sugarcoated anything, but the boys accepted them with the resolve to work on them. They sat on the benches while Kimiko drafted their individual training menus easily, her previous job as Teikou's coach and training manager making the task quite easy, while she tested their critical thinking by asking them questions on what to do if they were faced with a certain situation.

"Kimiko- _senpai_ -" Hitsugaya said after she handed them the finished training menus but was interrupted when she poked him on the nose with her borrowed pen.

"Not Kimiko- _senpai_ , it's Akumi- _senpai_ ," Kimiko corrected.

"Akumi- _senpai,_ " Hitsugaya tried once more, and she nodded at him to continue, "Do you have anything to do this afternoon?"

"Hm, why?"

The boy swallowed nervously while Minazuki and Kazami nudged him in the side, like they were telling him to hurry up and spit it out. Off to the side, Matsuoka watched his friends with an exasperated look on his face, and he sighed, getting everyone's attention.

"Akumi- _senpai_ , we were wondering if you could train us," Matsuoka told her with a determined expression. "We are aiming to get promoted to first-string at the last promotion exams this year." He bowed his head. "Please."

Surprised by the boy's actions, Kimiko waved her frantically. "O-oi, Hiro-" she stopped when the rest mimicked the aspiring point guard and bowed down to her as well. "What- brats... What do you think you're doing?" she said with a snort.

Matsuoka answered for all of them, and Kimiko had a feeling that he is the leader-type among the four. "We're asking our _senpai_ to spend her weekends with us?" He grinned slightly at Kimiko's raised eyebrows, and that sealed the deal.

"Alright. Now straighten up, you guys... Really, no need to bow to me," she told them. "Anyway, if we are to continue this afternoon, we really should go get some lunch. Anyone up for some ramen?"

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 _Autumn had set in, and with the approaching Winter Cup Tournament, practice had been more intense and lasted longer, much to Kimiko's displeasure. Akashi was well aware of her opinion on the matter, since it was Sanada and not her who had insisted on the extra time, and Kimiko had been pissed, of course. She was worried about their captain, Nijimura Shuuzo. Luckily, Sanada does not stay to watch over them for the whole practice, leaving the supervising to the ever responsible Nijimura. It would have been fine and dandy but then Nijimura suddenly got a phone call from the hospital two days ago and he had gotten so pale and nervous after the call that Kimiko had to pull him off to a corner to tell him that she and Akashi will handle the last hour of training so that he can go check on his father already. The following morning, Kimiko had immediately sought out Sanada to inform him about Nijimura's situation, only to have her request turned down. Shirogane was unfortunately unavailable for the whole week due to some seminar or something, so Sanada had the last say on everything regarding club matters. Undeterred, Kimiko ignored his orders and allowed Nijimura to go home early that afternoon, but today, Sanada had decided to stay the whole time and thus Nijimura had to stay until Sanada dismissed them._

 _Because of that, Kimiko decided to walk with Nijimura to the hospital, and Akashi decided to go with her. She even bought fruits for Nijimura to bring to his father despite the brunette telling her that it was unnecessary, but the two freshmen were insistent. While Kimiko had been busy buying fruits, Akashi had gone and bought some healthy take-out food for Nijimura and his father, knowing that the older boy takes his dinners together with his father. They didn't accompany him inside the hospital, of course, and when Nijimura had gone through those glass doors, Kimiko and Akashi turned back and began the long trek to their respective homes._

" _Ne, Seijuurou, I'm hungry. Let's eat," Kimiko said when they passed by the ramen stall a few blocks from Kimiko's house._

 _Akashi frowned at her choice. Ramen for dinner? That's not very healthy, so he said, "Let's go to an actual restaurant where they serve real food."_

" _Eh, but I want ramen," she said, already walking to the stall and lifting the flap to get in. Sighing, he followed the whimsical girl and seated himself on the stool next to her, his body the epitome of perfect posture while the girl was practically slumping on the counter. There were only two other customers on the other end of the counter aside from them, already slurping from their bowls, so the chef was able to accommodate them quickly._

" _May I have your orders, please?"_

 _Kimiko grinned at the warm greeting and replied enthusiastically, "Seafood ramen for me please!"_

" _And you, sir?" He turned to the girl's companion, who was looking uncomfortably at the menu posted on the wall behind him._

 _The girl snorted and ordered for the boy. "Miso ramen for the young master, please. Additional tofu for toppings."_

 _Akashi looked at the girl and chided her gently. "Akumi-"_

" _Chill... I promise you you'll like it." She nodded at the chef to confirm their orders._

" _Okay, one seafood ramen and one miso ramen with tofu toppings coming up!" He was back minutes later with two bowls of ramen and set them carefully in front of the uniformed pair._

 _Kimiko only laughed when Akashi eyed his bowl as if unsure what to do with it, then reached for a pair of chopsticks, breaking them apart before handing it over to the redhead. Getting her own pair of chopsticks, she clasped her hands together and said, "Itadakimasu!"_

 _Without a choice, Akashi followed suit, giving his silent thanks for the food and began to eat under her scrutiny. To his inner surprise and horror, the miso ramen was delicious. Very. It doesn't help that he was hungry from all their training - it was only his deeply ingrained manners that stopped him from inhaling the noodles. Kimiko, on the other hand, had no such limitations, and was happily eating her ramen a bit noisily._

" _Akumi, slow down," he had to say at some point. "You're going to choke on your food."_

 _She stared at him, mouth full of noodles and shrugged. "I'm hungry."_

 _Akashi can only sigh, then reached out to wipe broth off her face with a napkin. "At least, take the time to chew your food. That's why we have teeth," he pointed out, worried that she might get indigestion at the rate she was eating._

 _Kimiko swallowed her noodles and rolled her eyes at him. Jabbing her chopsticks in the direction of his bowl of ramen, she remarked, "And you really have to stop eating like your in front of the Emperor himself." She rolled her eyes. "Lighten up a bit, will you? Or was it really not to your liking?"_

" _The miso ramen is fine," he finally said after a long pause. "It's just- This is my first time eating in a place like this," he confessed, his face one of slight bewilderment, as if he did not meant to say that out loud. Kimiko had noticed that Akashi was more expressive when it was just the two of them; usually, he's the picture of cool composure and confidence. She never gave it much thought, and proceeded as normal._

" _Ah, there's that," she said with a laugh. "I'm not telling you to forget your manners but one might think that you do not find the food delicious at the way you're eating. Maybe a little enthusiasm would be nice..."_

 _Akashi pondered on her advice for a bit. He hummed vaguely and the pair resumed eating, this time with Akashi not as stiff as he was moments earlier. Kimiko, as expected, had finished before him and had taken to chatting with the chef, who had decided to check up on them. In the ten minutes of their conversation, Kimiko had easily befriended the older man and promised to come back to try the other types of ramen on the menu. She'd taken the redhead with her on those excursions, and on several occasions, the team as well. By that time, Kimiko and the chef was sharing recipes, and would often talk about possible ramen flavors while she ate, with Akashi acting the judge of their ideas more or less. The old man had grown fond of the pair and had come to treat them like they were his niece and nephew, slipping the occasional bonus toppings in their bowl whenever they drop by to eat. But then, on their last year in middle school, their visits declined, until it was only her who came to eat ramen, but she was always sad. It was not long until she stopped coming altogether, leaving the old man to wonder what had happened to the two of them._

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Lunch found the ragtag group of five lined up on the counter of a _ramen_ stand a couple blocks from the park. Kimiko was seated in the middle, while Matsuoka was quick to claim the seat on her right, feigning innocence when Kimiko glanced at him with mild curiosity.

Shrugging off the boy's odd behavior, Kimiko waved at the owner of the shop with familiarity. "Hisagi-san!"

The old man was confused for a moment, but then recognition dawned on him as he smiled at the energetic girl who had grown a lot since the last time he saw her. "Akumi-chan! Been a long time since you last came here!" He eyed the boys who were surprised at their acquaintance. "Where's _Waka-sama?_ " He'd always seen the chartreusette with that flame-haired boy, sometimes with the whole team, but never without that boy with the crimson hair and eyes.

" _Waka-sama?_ " Minazuki echoed as Kimiko shook her head sadly.

"I'm afraid the young master had already moved to Kyoto," she informed Hisagi, and something in her tone made him stop from asking more questions. So he asked for their orders and gave them a discount when Kimiko told him that they were her _kouhais_ from Teikou.

As soon as they got their steaming bowls of ramen, Hisagi had left them to their own devices since it was a busy time - a lot of people had come to get some hot noodles to keep away the cold. The five of them ate quickly to make way for the newcomers, and Kimiko just smiled at them when they protested when she paid for all of their food. On the walk back to the park, Kimiko asked them about Shirogane, the present regulars, and the general state of the basketball club. The boys answered her questions eagerly, and the chartreusette was pleased to know that things were going well - her former coach was taking care to not have a repeat of what had happened to the _Kiseki no Sedai_ in the past, although Teikou was still a force to be reckoned with in every competition they participated in.

When they were rested from their meal, Kimiko trained them until it got five in the afternoon, and they insisted to walk her back to her house. She was amused at the sentiment, and remembered how a certain person always accompanies her on the way home. Looking at the young boys around her, she prayed that the flames in their eyes - that burning passion for the sport - will never die, that that they will continue to play the sport because they love it and not just because they wanted to attain victory.

They thanked her greatly, their hands clutching the sheets of paper where she had written down their personal training menus. Standing just inside the gate to her home, she watched them as they walked away, their voices loud as they compared their menus with one another. That night, she dreamt of the past, back when they loved basketball with all of their hearts, when they would step on the court with smiles on their faces, back when basketball was fun and winning was not everything.

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	7. 第7章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **7** **章**

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— **水** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **13** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

Kimiko decided to drop by her former school on a Wednesday afternoon, entering the familiar doors of Teikou's first-string gym. She had came in just as they were having their water break, and her eyes automatically sought out Shirogane, who was busy discussing some things with what she assumed as the captain and the manager of the team. As she headed towards them, she heard someone call her name. Turning, she waved at the gaping Matsuoka.

"Yo."

The boy stared at her in disbelief, clearly not expecting to see her here. "Akumi- _senpai!?_ "

His loud voice drew the attention of everyone in the gym, and soon, all eyes were on her. Shirogane broke the silence when he greeted her warmly. "If it isn't Akumi-chan," he said with a smile.

" _Kantoku!_ " Kimiko ran to him and had no reservations with hugging the man who had been her grandfather figure in Teikou. He patted her head when she pulled away with a happy grin on her face. He was in a better shape than she last saw him. She gestured at the members. "Things are going well, I presume?"

The man chuckled happily. "Of course, Akumi-chan." He glanced at the four boys who were looking at her with a mix of giddiness and pride. "I overheard them talking about you giving them some special training last weekend. I almost did not believe had Matsuoka-kun did not show me their handwritten menus and asked me to allow them to follow that instead of the normal training menu."

Kimiko blushed slightly. "Sorry about that," she said. "I should've told them to-"

"You don't have to apologize," Shirogane assured her kindly. "If anything, they were lucky to have your guidance. Matsuoka-kun was the most curious about you, of course."

"Aa. He's the one who asked me to train him and his three friends. They were so eager that I can't find it in me to refuse them. They even bought me a gift," she showed the cute bracelet wrapped around her wrist. The four of them had showed up on her door last Monday afternoon, fresh from training, and presented their token of gratitude to her. It was a cute sentiment and she ended up inviting them to dinner.

"You handled them for two days and I have already seen their improvements," Shirogane informed her as they retreated to the wall. Water break is over and the captain had called for the manager to distribute the practice vests to each member. They will be ending today's practice with a series of mini-games, just like Kimiko remembered. The first-string was merged with the more promising members of the second-string, and she quickly located her four apprentices. Matsuoka and Hikigaya both got yellow vests while Kazami and Minazuki got blue. She gave them a quick thumbs-up then turned to Shirogane once more.

"I expect them to make it into first-string in the next promotional exams," she said. "That would be next week, right?"

"Right. Do you have the time to watch? I'm sure they would greatly appreciate your support."

Kimiko smirked. "Aa. I'll definitely drop by." The two of them lapsed into silence as they focused on the match taking place on the court. They shared their observations with one another, and Kimiko asked about the current captain. The boy was a current third-year, and Kimiko guessed his height around 174cm, which was about Aomine's height in middle school. He had black hair and looked like he could be Nijimura's younger brother, only more cheerful and louder unlike the ever-scowling Nijimura. Kimiko remembered him vaguely as one of the last batch that got promoted to first-string on her last year in Teikou - Akihiko Shinji. She wondered if Akashi had been the one to decide on the next captain when they graduated - she'd left before she'd known of his decision but Akihiko had been one of her top choices.

 _He's pretty good,_ she thought. When the boy was finished with his match, Shirogane called him over and introduced him to Kimiko. What they didn't expect was for the boy to blush beet red and fawn over the chartreusette like a rabid fanboy.

"Oi, you're harassing Kimiko- _senpai!_ "A voice said from behind them, and sure enough, there was Matsuoka standing with a look of disapproval on his face.

Kimiko laughed. "No one's harassing anyone, Hiro," she said the same time that Akihiko demanded why he was speaking to his captain that way. There was a brief bickering between the two boys while Kimiko tried to play the peacemaker, but all too soon, she lost her patience and just smacked the two upside their heads, smirking in satisfaction at the two cries of pain.

"It seems that you haven't lost your touch, Akumi-chan," Shirogane said with a light teasing voice as he looked at the two sulking boys in the corner. The two could not even compare to what Kimiko had gone through with the _Kiseki no Sedai -_ Kise alone was enough to give him a headache, but Kimiko knows just how to handle them and shut him and Aomine perfectly.

"I owe it to experience, Shirogane- _kantoku._ "

Kimiko stayed until the end of practice to watch the games of her four apprentices, talking to them afterwards to give pointers and to share her observations regarding their performance. It was all too easy to slip in her old habit when in familiar settings - even Minazuki and Hikigaya's bickering is reminding her all too much of Midorima and Murasakibara. Minazuki was a conservative traditionalist while Hikigaya doesn't give a damn about anything but basketball. Matsuoka was the one who was always sticking himself to her side like a persistent barnacle, like a cute little brother that was always hungry for attention, yet when he was with his friends, he was like a certain redhead who had the air of the charismatic leader. She was thankful for Hitsugaya's normalcy - although he was sometimes a geek with his tendency to not try something unless he was sure that he would get it on the first try.

When she had said her goodbyes to them and to Coach Shirogane (but not without promising to return for the promotional exams), Kimiko decided to stop by Maji Burger, too hungry to wait to get back home to have a proper dinner. As she waited in line, she noticed that Maji's was a bit crowded. And noisier than usual. As she made her order, she heard a loud voice exclaim, "What the hell was that for, Kuroko?!"

 _Kuroko?_

Her head snapped to the direction of the voice. There, behind her, was a group of boys wearing black, long-sleeved _gakuran_ with a standing collar which buttons from the bottom up to his chin. It has blue trimming on the sleeves and vertically in the middle, and was paired of with black pants. Some of them wore their uniforms with the jacket half or completely unbuttoned, revealing the white undershirt beneath it. However, her eyes were immediately glued to a boy with hair the color of the sky, standing next to a taller boy with wine-and-black hair. The smaller male turned just then, as if sensing her stare on his person, and his gaze met hers.

"A-Akumi-san..?"

"Hm? You saying, Kuroko?" The redhead asked, following the phantom's line of sight. The rest of their group did the same, and saw a pretty lime-haired girl at the front of the line, a tray with a milkshake and a burger in her hands.

"Yo. It's been a while, Tetsuya."

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His teammates' reactions were immediate.

After gaping at the slightly smiling girl who was looking at their unusually shocked phantom, the Seirin team exploded in a series of complaints about the unfairness of the world in general.

"Kuroko! Is she your girlfriend?"

"I thought you and Momoi are together?"

And the uncharacteristic wail from their captain -

"How come Kuroko gets all the beautiful girls?!"

Kimiko raised an eyebrow as Kuroko sighed at his friends' antics. He remembered their reactions when they first met Momoi, which was before their game with Touou during last year's Interhigh Tournament. Yes, Momoi is pretty, but do they have to assume that every girl who knows him to be his girlfriend?

"Ara, Tetsuya... What's this? Have you been seeing another while I was gone?"

Kuroko bit back another sigh and settled for a half-hearted glare directed at the girl who was getting amusement at his expense. He should not have been surprised - she'd been like this all the time back when they were still school mates. Ignoring the gasps of his friends around him, he said, "Akumi-san, we know that's not true. Please stop giving ideas to my team."

She chuckled at his politeness. "Fine, I'm just kidding," she directed this to Seirin, "I'm Kimiko Akumi, by the way. Tetsuya's former coach."

"Akumi-san, do you mind sitting with us?" Kuroko said when he noticed that she had come here alone.

She hesitated only for a brief moment then shrugged. "Sure. I'll wait for you guys over there," Kimiko replied before heading over to the long table at the other end of the diner. She sighed in relief. Kuroko is an easy person to deal with, and she did not have any animosity towards the phantom, so it was more or less a normal reunion between old friends. But how about the rest of the _Kiseki?_

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When the girl was out of hearing range, Kagami turned to his partner. "That-that was the person you told me about?"

"Hai. But please, do not mention any of it to her. It's a _sensitive_ subject," Kuroko emphasized on the word, knowing Kagami and his tendency to be blunt to the point of rudeness, though he means well most of the time.

They joined her at the long table, where Kimiko had taken position at the head. Kuroko took the seat on her right, Kagami sitting beside him, while Izuki dared to take the vacant seat on her left. The rest of the team arranged themselves on the remaining seats and let Kuroko take care of the introductions, while they shifted uneasily under her gaze.

 _It feels like we're facing Akashi Seijuurou for the first time all over again,_ Hyuga thought - a sentiment that was shared by everyone present. It didn't help that she also addressed them by their first names.

Somehow, they had passed her standards for she offered them a small smile of appreciation and said offhandedly, "No wonder you wanted to go to Seirin, Tetsuya." Her tone turned wistful for a moment. "You found yourself a good team."

Kuroko gave her one of his rare smiles as he nodded in agreement, which warmed the hearts of his his friends. Kuroko had shared to them why he had chosen to go to a no-name school like Seirin instead of joining his former teammates in their school of choice. He wanted a team that will play with him and fight for victory together, and Seirin had given him that and more.

She turned her attention to his teammates. "I am honored to meet Tetsuya's comrades. Thank you for taking care of him."

Kagami snorted through a mouthful of burger. "I think it's the other way around."

"Ah, now that you said it, I agree with the _baka_ ," Hyuga said. While the others bobbed their heads up and down, Koganei raised his hand and translated for the perpetually silent Mitobe. "Mitobe-kun says so, too!"

Mildly curious, Kimiko asked, "And why is that?"

"Kuroko had been the one to save our asses countless times whenever we're faced with one of those damn Miracles," Kagami said in his usual brash speech. Suddenly, he doubled over when he was jabbed mercilessly in the gut by none other than the pale boy that he was talking about. "What the he-Oww! _Teme-_ "

Ignoring the yelp of pain from his light, Kuroko clicked his tongue in admonishment. "Kagami-kun, please tone down your language."

"Tetsuya, really," Kimiko laughed quietly at the two. "You know that I too swear sometimes, right?"

There was an almost-pout on Kuroko's lips when he withdrew his hand from Kagami. "This is the only time that I'm going to say that Nijimura-san had been a bad influence on you, Akumi-san," he grumbled as he took a vicious sip of his favorite milk shake.

"Well, he did tend to swear a lot," Kimiko admitted. "A carry over from his delinquent days, I think... I still can't believe that he used to dye his hair blond the year before we entered Teikou," she snickered at the remembrance.

Izuki who had been listening in on their conversation, said, "Oh, so he's like Hyuga!"

"Oh?" Gold eyes met Izuki's gray ones before settling to Hyuga's wide ones. "I don't think blond suits you though," she proclaimed with a frown, and that sent everyone else guffawing in laughter. They had, after all, seen a picture of delinquent Hyuga with long blond hair in one of those old boxes stuffed in the storage of the clubroom, much to their captain's horror. It didn't help that Kiyoshi had been more than willing to tell them the story behind it, that traitorous bastard.

In between bouts of his own laughter, Kagami found himself thinking that maybe, this girl who resembled Akashi's split personality so much, wasn't so bad after all.

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As Kuroko expected, Kimiko had fallen to an animated conversation with his teammates after they had relaxed around her. Outside of the court, she's more easygoing and carefree, although she did like messing around with their heads more often than not - made worse because Akashi was always her partner-in-crime when they're not messing with each other's heads, of course.

Since Seirin had the privilege of playing against all of the members of the _Kiseki no Sedai_ and their respective teams, they were able to provide her with the information she needed, like where the rest of the Miracles went to school, and how their respective teams are like. They also told her about their matches against the Miracles, and all those stuff. She was highly interested with the incident involving Haizaki and Aomine, and commented:

"Shougo had always been a troublesome guy, but I think Satsuki's right. Nonetheless, it was foolish of Daiki to directly engage Shougo in a physical fight. It's a a good thing that there are no other witnesses."

And when she heard about Kise's Perfect Copy, she was duly impressed, but when Kuroko accidentally let it slip that the blond had tried to borrow the rolling pencil that Midorima had given Kuroko as a thank-you gift when they were in second year, Kimiko's eyes narrowed subtly.

"Did he now?" Her cold tone made them shiver. "Did you lent it to him?"

"No, I didn't. I lent it to Kagami-kun. He needed the answers more than Kise-kun does."

He's not a hundred-percent sure about that one, though. In Teikou, they didn't have much problems during exams since Kimiko and Akashi (and Nijimura, when he's available) hold group study sessions in her home, and had even managed to rope Haizaki back when Kise had not yet joined the team. Their only real problem had been Aomine, who barely passed thanks to Momoi's efforts, but when they started those tutoring sessions, he was able to get average grades, like Kise. With the blond in Kaijou, he's not sure how the blond is holding up with his studies - if he had someone to help him like his _senpais_ and himself had helped Kagami.

"Did you really have to mention that?" the redhaired boy hissed in his ear, his face matching his hair.

Turning to the grumbling tiger, "Taiga, isn't it?" She addressed him directly, and Kagami remembered his second meeting with the Emperor Akashi. He gulped when she smirked at him, "I am sure Shintarou is also annoyed with having to help you in such an indirect manner. Next time, study harder so that you will no longer have to rely on Shintarou's pencil in the future."

"Hmp. As if I would use that thing again," he said, avoiding her knowing gaze.

Kimiko chuckled softly. "Tetsuya, how was his scores?"

"O-oi!"

"He placed 90 out of 308 students, and scored a 98 on Japanese Studies by simply using the pencil for fifty straight minutes," Kuroko answered, choosing to risk Kagami's wrath than the chartreusette's. He can escape Kagami with his misdirection but not her.

They talked for a while - Kimiko was very interested with the random stories that the Seirin team have to tell her, all starting with the phrase "Oh, I remember when we..." which would later lead to another story starting with "How about that time when...", creating an endless conversation full of laughter and teasing between her and the boys. Kagami had relaxed and was exchanging banter with her like she was one of them, and Kuroko was chattier than usual. She even listened to Izuki's puns without flinching, much to Hyuga's embarassment.

It was already nearing half-past seven when they finally ran out of stories to tell, and Kimiko decided that it was time for them to go home and rest. They walked out of Maji Burger, with Kimiko trailing behind with Kuroko and Kagami. After saying their goodbyes, the group dissolved as each headed to their homes: Hyuga with Izuki, Koganei with Mitobe and Tsuchida, and then there's the Fuku-Furi-Kawa trio.

"Tetsuya, you shouldn't make your light wait for you," Kimiko said when she saw Kuroko standing idly on the sidewalk, with Kagami leaning on a lamp post nearby, his arms crossed.

Kuroko looked at her with something akin to hesitance. "Akumi-san, I was wondering..." Kimiko gave a silent hum when he trailed off, and taking that as a sign to continue, Kuroko finally asked, "Where have you been this past year, Akumi-san? I-We haven't heard anything from you since you _left,_ " the last word was almost whispered, and even Kagami felt the sudden shift in their behavior, like how Kuroko suddenly seemed to be treading on thin ice around her while Kimiko's eyes turned hard and guarded, even if it was only for a few seconds, before reverting to a dispassionate gaze.

"I was in France," came her simple reply. Her gaze turned sharp and piercing then, as if she was searching for something in Kuroko's pale blue eyes. "Is there something you need to tell me, Tetsuya?"

The question was a vague one, and Kagami has no idea what she meant by it. However, looking at Kuroko's happy face, the phantom obviously knew what she talking about.

"I did it, Akumi-san. With the help of my teammates, especially Kagami-kun. We did it. We brought them back. We brought _him_ back, Akumi-san."

A look of mixed shock and relief and joy flitted through her face before settling into a small smile, her eyes softening as she stepped up to hug the bluenette who was only slightly taller than her. Wrapping her hands around Kuroko's waist she rested her chin on his shoulders and closed her eyes as she murmured, "I knew you would, Tetsuya. I knew you would."

Kagami felt like he was intruding on the two but dared not to voice it out loud. Instead, he remained unmoving where he is, that's why he cannot help but overhear when Kuroko asked her quietly, "When will you meet the others, Akumi-san?"

Kimiko released him before she replied with a shrug. " _Saa_. Who knows... I'll meet them when I meet them. There's no hurry. Oh," her voice regained its liveliness as she looked at each of them in turn. "No word of this to anyone. I won't have Ryouta banging at my door at midnight."

"As you wish, Akumi-san," Kuroko agreed, knowing that Kimiko wasn't the type to avoid their other friends on purpose. He turned to Kagami who silently nodded his head as he straightened up, ready to go.

"I really don't talk to those guys unless they approach me first," Kagami said. "Come on, Kuroko said that he wants to walk you home."

"You don't have to, but thanks for offering," Kimiko said, knowing that Kuroko's house was in the opposite direction to her own. Seeing the indecision in the bluenette's face, she chuckled and ruffled his hair playfully. "Really, Tetsuya. I'll be fine. You and Taiga should go home and rest. You still have classes and practice tomorrow."

"But Akumi-san..."

"Tetsuya..." Kimiko mimicked.

Kagami sighed.

"Fine," Kuroko finally conceded to her wishes. "Let's go, Kagami-kun."

"Take care on the way home, you two," Kimiko said as she waved at them from across the street.

"You, too, _ano,_ Kimiko," Kagami said when Kuroko merely nodded.

"It's Akumi," she reminded him one last time before turning her back to them. They didn't saw the contented smile on her face as she reflected on Kuroko's words.

 _They're back._

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	8. 第8章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **8** **章**

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— **水** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **13** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

"Cancers are ranked first today! Your past will be visiting so be prepared for the shock of your life! Today's lucky item is a stuffed lion! Next in line is —"

Midorima shut the TV off just as Takao called out to him from outside the door. They were not using the rickshaw this time as Takao was too exhausted from their trainings everyday. The shorter male was surprised when Midorima told him that he no longer needs the rickshaw, and had teased him about it.

"So Shin-chan really cares for me! I'm touched!"

To which Midorima, ever the tsundere, huffed and said, "I'm not, nanodayo."

They walked to school together, with Takao teasing him about his lucky item as usual, and Midorima either ignoring him or telling him to shut up. After practice, the two freshmen walked back home together, this time discussing things during their training, pointing out flaws of each other and figuring out how to get rid of them. Takao can be a bit of an airhead, but he was really reliable in the court. Their loss against Rakuzan during the Winter Cup had shaken the boy, and it had been up to Midorima to console his partner. At first Takao was just stubborn, almost quitting the team right then and there, but Midorima won't let him. Slowly but surely, Takao regained his footing and practiced seriously more than ever, determined not to fail the team and Midorima again.

The two were discussing about Takao's passes when Midorima stopped in his tracks. He was staring straight ahead at the figure standing by a lamppost, her face illuminated from the light from her phone. He remembered today's horoscope.

" _Masaka_ …"

" _Doushita_ _no_ , Shin-chan?"

Without a word, Midorima approached the person, and hesitantly called out her name. Takao followed quietly behind, confused.

"Kimiko..."

There was no mistake about it. Chartreuse hair, gold eyes. Yep, it's her indeed.

She looked up, and recognition dawned instantly. "Shintarou."

To her and Takao's astonishment, Midorima suddenly bowed his head and apologized to her. "I'm sorry, Kimiko. I didn't do —"

She reached out and placed a finger under his chin and slowly lifted his head upwards. When Midorima tried to speak, she hushed him by placing a finger against his lips. She clicked her tongue in mild annoyance.

"Shush, Shintarou. What are you saying? No one is blaming you for what happened. It's all in the past. And you know what they say. The past is a nice place to visit, but not a good one to stay. You cannot hope to move forward if you keep on looking back."

"But you were —"

"How about introducing me to your friend?" She diverted the topic upon noticing Takao looking at her and Midorima in confusion.

Her tone ordered him to drop the subject and Shutoku's ace had to comply. He sighed as her arm dropped back to her side. "This is Takao Kazunari, my partner in our basketball team. Takao, this is Kimiko Akumi, my coach in Teiko."

"Coach? Really? I thought Teiko's coach was an old man…"

"Shirogane-kantoku was hospitalized halfway during our second year until we graduated. Kimiko took over during his absence." Midorima briefly explained.

"I see…" Takao said thoughtfully. He held out his hand to her. "Nice to meet you, Kimiko -chan!"

She shook his hand. "The pleasure is mine, Kazunari." But just as Takao was about to pull his hand back, her grip tightened and she leaned closer to look at him closely with narrowed eyes. "Hmmm? You know, you really look familiar... Have we met before?" Akumi was staring at Takao intently, as she searched in her memories for this stormy-eyed boy. "Sou da, sou da! We played against your team in middle school! Shoyo _Gakuen_ , ne?" She punctuated this with a snap of her fingers.

Takao had to laugh - she had him scared for a moment there. "Yep! You got excellent memory, Kimi-chan! Unlike a certain someone..."

Midorima, who was walking behind them, glared at Takao, who merely laughed and returned to his conversation with the charteusette. He sighed as the two in front of him burst out laughing over something he could not hear.

"Oi, Takao, what have you been telling Kimiko?"

"What a tsun-tsun! Hahahahaha!"

"And the nerve of that Kagami Taiga to give an autograph — on his hand no less!"

"TAKAOOOOOOO!"

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It turned out Midorima became some sort of chaperone to the two, as Akumi went along with Takao's antics and laughed at his foolishness. He barely joined the conversation as he really wasn't one for talking, and found comfort in listening to them bicker and argue like old friends. Once in a while, one of them would turn to see if he was still there or to ask him a question. Much like how it used to back then: He, Kuroko, and Akashi would be at the back, Momoi latched at Kuroko's arm, while the rest would be up front, loud and noisy as usual, arguing about something that perfectly made sense at the start of their discussion, and thanks to a chartreusette's way with words, would render it nonsensical and absolutely unrecognizable by the time she, Kise, Aomine, and Murasakibara would be done by it.

Akumi was by all means a strict person on court — not a good person to mess with if she's the one handling your training if you hoped to make it back home in one piece. It was the same in class. But outside of it, she was much of a carefree persona, a mixture of Kise's bubbly personality mixed with the sharpness of Akashi's wit and her own dash of sarcasm.

She was what Akashi once called a "living paradox" — because that was what she was, a human being full of contrasting personalities. She was cold as ice yet warm as fire, hard as stone but soft as cotton, sharp as an arrow's point and blunt as an aged knife's blade, evil as Lucifer himself but kind as a saint. Her voice was sweet in a way that it can steal your soul and leave you dead. The way she moves was languid yet graceful, always in perfect rhythm, always drawing attention necessarily or not, each one like a perfectly rehearsed move and refined by years of practicing in front of a mirror. She had a dozen kinds of smiles and your survival whenever you met her depends on what kind of smile she's wearing. Her lithe figure hides a deadly skill of subduing anyone who dare so much as to lay a hand on her without her consent. Her steps were light but her grip was firm as iron.

They reached the intersection where they would have to part ways — she to the south, them to the east. She smacked Takao's head in farewell, and said a proper goodbye to Midorima, who watched as her figure disappeared round the corner before going on his own way, much to Takao's amusement.

"You could've just offered to walk her home."

"She can do it herself, nanodayo."

"Pft. What a tsundere...!"

"Shut up, Takao."

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	9. 第9章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **9** **章**

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— **土** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **x17** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

Saturday morning found one Himuro Tatsuya wandering around the streets of Tokyo with his younger teammate, Murasakibara Atsushi. They had arrived early, making the four-hour journey from Akita to Tokyo by eight o'clock that morning. The two had parted ways upon arriving - Himuro had to drop by Kagami's house to ask something from his former teacher, Alexandra Garcia, who had been staying over at the redhead's apartment, while Murasakibara, as usual, was out to hunt for some rare kind of potato chips that Kuroko had told him about.

On his way to Kagami's apartment, he happened to pass by street court and saw that there were a group of delinquents crowding around some poor kid, seeing that there were a group of younger boys looking at the older ones with fear and panic on their faces. Himuro shook his head and sighed; walking towards the court, only to find himself running when a commotion broke out within the huddled group and a girl with bright lime-green hair emerged from within.

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 _Okay, so when did it get like_ _this_? Kimiko sighed inwardly as she tightened her grip on Matsuoka's wrist and pulled him to the side. They'd been on their last practice drill for the morning when a group of high school delinquents barged in on the court. They didn't notice their presence until one of them wolf-whistled at her when she was in the middle of demonstrating how to do an ankle-break. The boys were quick to defend her, but though she appreciate the gesture, she cannot get them involved with this. Aside from the fact that the Nationals are approaching, she knows that these boys will be no match to the intruders who were most likely used to dirty street fighting.

She'll have to deal with them by herself.

"Now you boys stay put and leave it to me. You get that?" she ordered them with a teasing smile.

Matsuoka immediately protested. "But, Kimiko- _senpai_ —!"

"Oh, shut it. I told you to stay put, and you're going to stay put, unless they did lay a hand on you, _you all will stay put_." All mirth was gone from her person. The boys gulped at the sudden 180 of her mood. She smiled again, a wicked sadistic smile. "Are we clear?"

"H- _HAI_!"

"Good," and she turned to face the group of six high school delinquents that had the nerve to barge in the court in the middle of her weekend training session with the her _kouhais_. She snorted when their leader approached her with a lecherous smile. She put a hand on her waist, and some of them whistled when she raised an eyebrow at them.

"Like what you see?" she asked, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

She was wearing normal sportswear — red shirt, black jersey shorts, black varsity jacket, and her favorite pair of black basketball shoes. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, the shorter strands left loose, framing her delicate face. A ball was under her other arm.

"Very," the one she assumed to be their leader replied with a lick of his lips. "Say, what do you think? Ditch those brats and have fun with us — you'll enjoy more than hanging out with those wimps."

She put on a bored expression and lazily dribbled the ball a few times, then spun it on the tip of her slender finger. "No thanks. I don't associate myself with trash."

The lecherous expression was replaced with one of anger. "What did you say?"

She gasped in mock surprise. "Oh, so you have a defective eardrum to go with your rotten brain."

"Bitch—!" He lunged at her, intending to grab her wrist, but she moved before he did, slamming the ball in his face hard enough to knock him backwards. He fell to the ground, and he sat there cradling his bloody face. Kimiko had broken his nose.

"Oops, my hand slipped." She smiled sheepishly, then ducked as a fist came swinging at her. "Mind the face, dear. I don't want it when my face gets dirty," she taunted as two of them came at her while the rest helped their fallen leader up. She saw Minazuki about to plunge into the fight, but she sent him a glare that could probably make a plant wither, and he meekly obeyed her unspoken command.

One of the delinquents managed to grab her jacket and pulled her towards him. Thinking quickly, she slid her arms out and with the sleeves in her hand, she spun around and managed to choke the guy with the garment. The other one aimed a kick at her, and instinctively, she hauled the choking guy up and used him as a shield for the incoming blow. There was a sickening crack as the guy's foot connected with his comrade's face, who fell unconscious to the ground as Kimiko released him from her grip.

"Hey, what are you doing? I thought you were friends?" she pointed at the guy at her feet.

The man growled at her, and came at her with another punch.

Kimiko snorted. _Seriously? They're gonna punch me? The hell with these morons?_

She tossed the jacket in his face, blocking his vision for a split second allowing her to move in and kick him where the it hurts the most. He crumpled to the ground, joining his friend that he had kicked in the face.

"She's a feisty one, alright." The leader of the gang had now recovered, and was grinning at her, then grimaced at the sight of the two lying face down on the cement. "But there's only one of you, and four of us. Not even the brats can help you even if they did join in."

"Don't get them involved here." She hissed as the four approached her on all sides. They surrounded her.

"Any last words to your beloved _senpai_ , brats?" he called over his shoulder. "You better say them now, she'll nev —Oww!"

He groaned in pain and fell on his knees, clutching his stomach where the girl had shoved her knee. Kimiko flipped over his figure, making use of the opening he'd created. He spat a mouthful of blood. "Get her, you fools!" he screamed at his three minions.

Kimiko turned, and lost her balance as she dodged another blow at her face thanks to her quick reflexes. When she thought that she was sure to fall on her butt, her back collided with someone's chest and a strong arm wrapped around her waist, steadying her on her feet. At the same time, a male voice spoke out, raging with cold anger.

"It's not right to hurt girls. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves."

She saw the three men and then their leader glare at the person behind her, then shot her a menacing glance, which she returned with fake innocence.

"She's not a girl! She's a warfreak! She took down two of my companions and she broke my nose!" The leader raged, then pointed at her. "You call that a girl?"

He removed his arms around her, and she turned her head to look at him. A lone black eye peeked out under raven locks. He smiled gently at her. "You alright?"

Kimiko nodded. "Aa. Thanks." She smiled back, and he patted her shoulder before going in front of her and faced the gang leader.

She saw him shrug his shoulders. "That only shows how weak you are compared to her."

"You're asking for it!"

All four came at him in all directions, and for a split second, Kimiko was thinking of joining the fray to help him, only to stop herself and just watch as he evaded all their attacks gracefully, before knocking them out cold with a punch to the side of the face or to the stomach. She winced as his fist connected with their bodies, then whistled as they all dropped down like flies around him.

Himuro fixed himself up, and ran a hand through his inky locks, then went over and picked up a discarded jacket draped over one of the gangsters. He dusted it off, then walked back to the lime-haired girl standing at the edge of the court, looking at him with a hint of admiration. Four middle-schoolers were standing around her, looking worried and relieved. They looked up at his approach.

"Here, I think this is yours."

She took the offered jacket. "Thanks again." She peered behind him, then grimaced. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drag you into this... Though you're pretty good, I have to admit."

"Used to do that a lot back in the States." Himuro shrugged.

"Eh?" Her gold eyes widened. Now that he noticed it, she was quite the looker — beautiful, he might say. Beautiful not in a cute way, but in a gorgeous and elegant way. Her hair was of a unique color, too. Which reminds him —

"You lived in the States before?" she asked, cutting off his train of thought.

"Aa. Los Angeles. I grew up there, then returned back here in high school."

"I see. What year are you in?"

"Second year. How about you? And them?" He gestured at the boys behind her.

"Kimiko- _senpai_ 's training us in basketball!"

"You should see her play! She's awesome!"

"Hey, she's awesome earlier too, right? She totally whipped their asses off!"

The boys ranted excitedly about their _senpai_ 's 'awesomeness' and he saw her pouting a little. He laughed silently, then when the noise died down, he asked her.

"Kimiko...?"

"Pft. Great — we totally skipped the introductions." She stuck out a pale hand to him. "Kimiko Akumi, nice to meet you."

He took it and gave the soft hand a firm shake. "Himuro Tatsuya. _Kochira koso_."

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"And that's what happened," Kimiko put a spoonful of the delicious ice cream in her mouth.

 _Since the court was littered with bodies, the boys decided to postpone their training, then left her alone with Himuro, whispering and chuckling on their way home as they look back now and then at the two of them standing side by side by the court's entrance. They laughed at the boys' childishness, knowing perfectly well what they were thinking with all those waggling eyebrows and conspiratorial looks directed at them. When they were out of sight, Himuro's phone rang with an incoming message. He stared at his phone, blinked, then let out a laugh._

 _"Hm?"_

 _"My companion decided to go back to Akita by himself after I ditched him to go here." He'd totally forgotten about lunch with Murasakibara._

" _Oh..."_

 _"Don't worry about it. Say, how about lunch?"_

 _"Sure. My treat."_

 _"No. I invited you, so I should be the one paying."_

 _She stopped walking. "But you helped me!"_

 _He chuckled then led her by the arm to the nearby diner. "You already thanked me earlier. So allow me to play gentleman and treat you for lunch."_

 _She giggled at the word_ gentleman _, and relented anyways._

And that's how they ended up eating lunch together, and her telling him about the cause of the fight.

"Well, they surely made a mistake for underestimating you." Himuro replied thoughtfully. Then he remembered, "The jacket trick was indeed awesome, though. I never thought that it can really work in real life — or to use it in a middle of a gang fight. I only saw that in movies."

"I thank Jackie Chan for that. Watching action movies with lots of martial arts and flashy stunts has its uses, after all."

"Who were those boys anyway? And why were you training them?"

She made a small silent "hmm" at his question, mouth still full of ice cream. "Ah, about that... They were freshmen students from my middle school. I was assistant coach back then, and not to boast or whatever, but I am good with my job. I met them couple weeks ago, and they recognized me and begged me to train them. I obliged them, more like I missed basketball itself and I love my school, so yeah."

It struck Himuro then. Why didn't he realized it earlier? "Your middle school doesn't happen to be Teikou, _ne_?"

She looked at him, surprised. "You're pretty knowledgeable for a returnee. How come you know Teikou? Got a sibling or a girlfriend from there?"

"Nope. I'm an only child, and no, I don't have a girlfriend," he said, chuckling. "I have a friend in high school who used to go there."

"Ah... I see. But, really?"

Himuro blinked. "Really what?"

"That you don't have a girlfriend?"

Himuro was confused. "I don't have one."

She placed her elbow on the table, and leaned her face on her hand. The other one was pointing the spoon at Himuro. "A nice handsome guy like you and no girlfriend — seriously..."

He felt the back of his neck grew warm. Was he blushing? Ridiculous. Himuro had been complimented about his looks more often than not, and he is not the type to get carried away with such praises, but a word from this girl and he gets affected.

"Well, it's the truth," he said weakly.

Kimiko resumed eating while Himuro calmed himself.

"He told me Teikou has the strongest basketball team back in our days..."

Kimiko suddenly burst out laughing. Himuro blinked. Did he said anything funny?

"...'Back in our days', you say... _Kami_ , you sound like my grandfather!" She had tears in her eyes. Himuro was thinking how musical her laughter sounded. She looked at him, then asked, "How old are you again?"

Himuro's lone visible eye crinkled in amusement. "I dunno. Eighty-seven, I think."

She laughed some more, then when she had had enough, she said with a bit of a teasing lilt, "Well, yeah, 'back in our days,' Teikou dominated the middle school basketball scene. Interhigh, Nationals, Winter Cup — the results were always the same. 'A hundred battles, a hundred victories,' a bit grand for a school motto, but well, they are good at upholding it."

"So that means you know the Kiseki no Sedai?"

"You're either a basketball fan or a basketball player yourself. I'm guessing it's the latter. I bet you played some of them in those three major tournaments." Himuro nodded. "Well, I..." she trailed for a moment, and her eyes had this distant look in them like she was looking back at the past. Then it vanished. "I knew them — used to, I mean."

Her tone clearly tells Himuro that she does not like talking about her time in Teikou, the reason why he had an idea of it — Kagami and Murasakibara had told him already. So he changed topics — not really, just to steer them away from Teikou itself.

"I'm curious, though. How did you became interested in basketball? I'm not being a sexist here, but girls would rather watch than to actually learn the sport, and from observation, girls prefer volleyball than basketball..."

"I don't know." Her answer was immediate. "I just love it. Or maybe, I simply enjoy torturing the club members with my special training menus."

Himuro sweatdropped as Kimiko grinned. "You're a bit of a sadist."

"A little."

They returned to the court after that, planning to play some basketball, but seeing the blood and spit on it made them to decide otherwise. Kimiko had an idea, though.

"There's another court here, but it's a bit farther ahead. Want to go there?"

And so they walked, tossing the ball back and forth to one another as they talked like long lost friends. Himuro told her about his childhood in Los Angeles, and Kimiko surprised him by telling him that she spent the first half of her first year in high school in France, and was having online lessons as of the present. When Himuro asked her where she'll enroll in second year, she said she had not thought of that yet. He wished she'd go to Yosen, though that's probably a stretch.

And in all of their conversation, no one mentioned Teikou and everything related to it.

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Kimiko drank the _Pocari_ that Himuro had graciously gotten her. They sat on the bench, nursing their drinks, the basketball lying near her feet. They had been playing for three hours straight, and neither noticed until the ball rolled near the bench and Kimiko was able to get a glance at the time on her cellphone's screen when she went to retrieve the ball. When she mentioned it to Himuro, he was surprised as well.

"We've been playing for three hours? I didn't notice..."

They were probably having too much fun to pay attention to it. Kimiko challenged him to a one-on-one, and although he was skeptical about it, he agreed. He has to give it to her, the girl was pretty skilled, and gave him a bit of a challenge. She was light and fast on her feet, with excellent reflexes that makes it easy for her to make and avoid steals. But Himuro was good too, and he won their match, with Kimiko a close six points behind. She was also able to figure out the secret behind his Mirage Shot, but fortunately for him, she lacks the height to stop it.

"Hey, you gonna take the train home, right?" Kimiko asked.

"Yes, I am."

"Not gonna go yet? It's getting late. I wouldn't want you traveling at night."

Was she concerned? Himuro was surprised, and touched. "How about you? You're not going back yet?"

"I live nearby. I can go home anytime I want."

They both stood up. Kimiko hung her jacket on one arm and carried the ball with another.

"I'll go after I walk you home." Himuro finally said. Kimiko looked doubtful for a bit, then sighed.

"Still the gentleman, aren't you?"

"...I've always been the gentleman pretty much the entire time."

They both laughed at that, and they headed on to Kimiko's house.

"Well, I enjoyed today very much. Again, thanks for helping me. I was able to escape unscathed."

Himuro smiled. He had enjoyed today too. Even if he had to punch a couple faces first. Is this really the Kimiko that Murasakibara and Kagami had told him? She's very different, though.

"Aa. Me too. _Ja_ , see you around," he turned to go.

"Hey, wait! Give me your number," Kimiko suddenly said. She tossed him her cellphone without hesisltation — he can catch a ball well enough, a phone won't be much of a difference. He wordlessly added his number and email address to her contacts, and tossed it back to her without thought. Same logic applies.

She grinned at him, then waved her phone at him. "I'll send you mine, later. See you around, Tatsuya."

Himuro felt his heart skip a beat when she said his name. It was the first time she did that the whole day. He felt happier. He waved his hand.

"I'll be waiting for it. Well, gotta go now, wouldn't want to go home late." She bit back a laugh. "Bye for now, Kimiko-san."

She snorted and said, "I told you, it's _Akumi_."

"...Right. See you, Akumi."

She nodded. "Aa. Take care, Tatsuya."

As Himuro walked away, he thought, _maybe it's not a bad thing to accompany Atsushi to Tokyo now and then._

He can't wait for next time.

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	10. 第10章

**Author's Note:** A few changes in here. I am not really rewriting the whole story - just correcting the slight mistakes in each chapter, like the dates and how each character addresses someone, spelling and grammar mistakes, some plot holes and all that. Depending on what **The Emperor's Empress** and I had decided, the real change will happen by Chapter 22, which is when Akashi and Kimiko had their first kiss in the original story, or in Chapter 32, which is the confession. So yeah. If you have any suggestions, do tell me via PM or just put it in your review. Thanks!

(Oh, and I am still thinking about Himuro and Kise. Hmm... What to do with these two...)

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **10** **章**

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— **土** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **16** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

Kimiko had just finished taking a shower after a very tiring day and was about to head to the kitchen to prepare dinner since she doesn't particularly like eating take-outs, preferring to cook her own food; that way she'll know what kinds of things goes inside her mouth.

Clad in a fresh sweater and shorts, she made her way downstairs when her phone rang in her pocket. At the same time, the doorbell rang.

Now, who would be barging in at her house at — she took out her phone and checked the time, at the same time reading her email from Himuro confirming that he had received her message earlier — exactly 6:58 in the evening?

Her eyes narrowed as she approached the door, whose doorbell was being abused by whoever it is on the other side of the wooden entrance.

 _It couldn't be —_

She swung the door open with a sigh. Sure enough, a blond guy with extremely good looks stood outside her house, with a smile too bright it hurts her eyes by just looking at the overly cheerful model.

"Ryouta," she said flatly, in contrast to the guy's obvious excitement. _Aren't our roles exchanged? I mean the girls should be the bubbly ones while the guys are the composed ones? Or maybe I'm stereotyping..._

"Akumicchi~!" The blond attacked her with a hug. Kimiko found herself squeezed by the ever hyperactive male, his face buried at the crook of her neck, where he was nuzzling her like a dog. He was saying her name repeatedly like a child with a toy dangling in front of him. Kimiko ended up with her face covered by Kise's scarf, enveloping her with its familiar scent.

 _It seems that the Kise Ryouta I left behind a year ago is still the same childish and vain brat back then. And his instinct to hug people regardless who they are has still not changed too._

Maybe it's not bad to indulge Kise once in a while. And so Kimiko sighed, wrapped one arm around Kise, and the other reached up to muss up his hair. She felt Kise stiffen in surprise at her actions, simply because he was expecting her to push him away already. It was already a miracle that she didn't shut the door in his face, even more that she didn't evade his hug — honestly, Kise had a higher chance of hugging Kuroko than Kimiko — and now, she's actually reciprocating his embrace.

Kise doesn't know whether to cry or to laugh.

"Akumicchi, I really, really, really, really, really, really, really miss you so so so so so so so muuuuuuch~!"

She laughed, and messed up his hair even more. "It's glaringly obvious, Ryouta. One has to be blind not to notice that."

"Ne, Akumicchi, did you miss me?" he asked her as he followed her into the kitchen. His tone was like that of a child seeking attention from his mother.

"Of course, I did. I still have a heart, you know," she replied with a snort. The blond looked over her shoulder as she checked the contents of her fridge.

"Eh? Akumicchi hasn't eaten dinner yet?" he asked.

"Hmm-mmm." She tapped a finger at her chin, figuring out what dish to cook with the available vegetables on hand.

Kise had been looking inside her fridge also, and without warning, he said with a matching fist pump, "I know!"

Before him, Kimiko jumped in surprise. She turned to look at Kise with a wary eye. Now, what is he up to?

"You know what?"

"I know what to cook!" He flashed a smile at Kimiko, then puffed out his chest as he said confidently, " _Yosh_! Leave dinner to me, Akumicchi! I, Kise Ryouta, will cook you the best dinner in the world!"

She closed her eyes then made a shooing motion with her hand. "Who said I'm gonna set you loose in my own kitchen? And honestly, I don't know if you could cook. I have every right to doubt you, you know. The last time I saw you, you were a disaster in the kitchen."

Kise stopped short. "Eh?" And then, fully comprehending the girl's words, Kise's ego visibly deflated. "EH?!" He almost shouted as he took a step back. His shoulders slumped. "Akumicchi doesn't trust me... I just wanted to cook you dinner but it seems that you won't let me..."

Kimiko looked at him with a mixture of emotions that she cannot quite discern what she's exactly feeling at the moment. Kise looked really dejected right now, and this was their first meeting for over a year of separation. Ever since she met Kise, the seemingly immature blond had that special spot in her heart — she always sees him as a kid brother she never had, especially when he always gets bullied by the other Kiseki no Sedai members because out of all of them, Kise is by far the weakest, but then his full potential was still untapped by then. And she finds Kise's cheerfulness quite contagious, thus it really bothers her seeing a very downcast copycat in front of her.

 _Did I sounded too harsh?_

She bit her lip, then made her decision. She backed down, stepped away from the fridge, then sat down at the dining table. She called out to the sulking blond.

"I'm hungry. You better make dinner now, else I'm eating out. And do close the fridge. It's wasting energy."

From a whipped dog look, Kise turned to a very happy one, amber eyes sparkling with joy. "Really, Akumicchi? You're gonna let me prepare your food? Really, really?"

"Say 'really' one more time and I'll kick you out of the kitchen. Start cooking already."

"—H- _hai_! I assure you, you'll like the food I'm going to serve you later, Akumicchi!"

She laughed at Kise's excitement. He really gets happy with the smallest of things. "That remains to be proven." She sat back and just observed the blond busy himself in her kitchen, telling him where certain things are kept whenever she sensed him wondering about the whereabouts of the knives, chopping boards, frying pans, and all that. The third time she spoke behind him, he turned to her and asked her.

"Seriously, Akumicchi? Are you a mind reader, a clairvoyant? How can you tell that I am looking for this kind of knife without me saying it out loud?"

"Secret," she said, and stuck her tongue out at him. Kise huffed at his former coach's childishness and resumed his cooking.

"Need help slicing the veggies?" Kimiko said after a while.

"Nope! I can handle this, Akumicchi!" Kise replied without turning to face her. "This should be done in thirty minutes... Is that okay with you?"

"Just as long as you make it edible," she replied with a laugh.

"Give me some credit, Akumicchi... I promise you'll like my cooking!" Kimiko only laughed as the blond pouted.

Kimiko contented herself with watching a very focused Kise as he went on cooking, his back to her. He worked with quick, nimble movements, handling no fewer than four cooking procedures at once. Over here he tasted a boiled dish, and the next second he was at the cutting board, chopping something, then he took something out of the fridge and piled it in a bowl, and before she knew it he had washed a pot he had finished using. In all honesty, Kimiko was pretty much in awe.

Thirty-seven minutes and forty-eight seconds later — Kimiko had actually timed it, not that she mentioned it to Kise, though — and an impressive array of dishes was laid out on her dining table. She eyed each one with an appreciative look.

Kise's cooking was far better than she had expected: an amazing assortment of fried, pickled, boiled, and roasted dishes using eggs, mackerel, fresh greens, aubergine, mushrooms, radishes, and sesame seeds, all cooked in the delicate Kyoto-style he remembered that she liked a lot.

"You practically emptied my fridge, didn't you?" she said. "Don't you think this is a bit overboard for a simple dinner?"

Kise laid the bowl of soup at the center of the table and took the seat across Kimiko with a proud smile on his face. "Nah, Akumicchi deserves only the best, of course. Go on, take a bite, Akumicchi!"

The chartreusette selected a few dishes to taste while the blond observed her a bit nervously.

"So, how does it taste...?" he asked, as the girl's chopsticks went from bowl to bowl taking a bit of this and that, stuffing her mouth.

"This is great," she said, nodding after she swallowed her food.

"Really? You liked it, like really?" he exclaimed happily, relief and pride washing over him.

"Yup! I liked it, really," she said, giggling slightly. She looked at him in admiration. "You're really full of surprises, Ryouta! Where did you learn to make all this? This is just awesome!"

"That's a secret, Akumicchi!" The blond teased, remembering how the chartreusette had done the same to him earlier.

"Fine!" The girl huffed, and the two began to stuff themselves. Even Kise himself was surprised at how good it tasted — his copying skill is really useful, he concluded.

"Say, how did you know I was back already?" she said as she bit a piece of fried egg.

"I overheard Takaocchi teasing Midorimacchi about you when I ran into them at a shoe shop. I can't believe it at first and thought that maybe Takaocchi was talking about someone else but then Midorimacchi said your name and so I just have to go and confirm it with Midorimacchi and he said that you're really back and I don't know what to do so I went home but I got restless so I decided to visit you."

Kimiko was only able to catch the words "Takaocchi", "Midorimacchi", "shop", and "visit you" — the rest was incomprehensible at the speed in which Kise ratted them off.

"Aa," was the only reply she can give. "What?"

Kise looked liked he wants to say something but hesitation was reflected in his warm amber orbs.

"Ano, Akumicchi... When will you decide to face..." he trailed off, not sure if he can mention the name to her. He looked down on his plate.

She sighed, and Kise jumped, scared that he might have ruined her mood. If memory serves right, Kimiko was quite a moody one back then, capable of switching from happy to pissed in three seconds flat.

"Sooner or later, we'll gonna cross paths one day. It's inevitable, and I'm prepared for that when I decided to come back here." Her voice grew quieter. "Tetsuya had fulfilled his promise to me, and I have to do my part as well. It's not like I planned to be separated from you guys forever, but I need to take a breather. I am choked — figuratively and literally. I had to leave."

He nodded in understanding, and decided to drop the topic altogether. He was just worried about how their meeting will end up. Given their personalities, it might end up into another full-blown war...

 _But_ _Akashicchi_ 's _changed_ , _right_? He thought. _Akumicchi_ , _too_. Hopefully, they'll get things settled between them — Kise misses the times when everyone was gathered and would just fool around.

Those were the good old times.

Kimiko then asked him about his present team, and Kise immediately launched into a lively narration about his experience in Kaijou, to which the girl listened intently, making comments and inquiries once in a while.

Kise was happy as he talked about his new team, even though he's disappointed with losing to Seirin during the Winter Cup. More so since it will be Kasamatsu's last year with them.

"Akumicchi, can you help me with something?" Kise asked when they had already finished dinner and had moved into the living room where Kimiko sat on the couch, strumming a random melody on her guitar. Kise had pretty much informed her of everything that had happened to him during her absence, and was now contented with hearing the girl's singing.

"What is it about, Ryouta?"

"It's a — it's a gift."

"Oh?" Kimiko grinned at him mischievously. "So who's the lucky girl?"

"Eh?! Akumicchi, it's not like that!"

"So it's a boy?"

"Hai..." He looked at the floor.

Kimiko's jaw dropped upon hearing Kise's admission. She blinked, once, twice, thrice. At her silence, Kise looked up, then the conversation replayed itself in his head, and that's when he realized his mistake. He gasped.

"Nooooo, it's not what you think, Akumicchi! I mean, yes, it's for a boy but we're not related like the way you think!" he screamed, and the girl burst into laughter once again until her eyes teared up, as Kise pouted at her actions.

"Mou, Akumicchi... Are you thinking that I'm gay?"

"You're the one who put the idea in my head in the first place!" She retorted. "So, who's it for?"

"It's for my captain, Kasamatsu-senpai. I want to give him a graduation gift."

"I see. So, he's going off to University, then." His captain must have mattered much to Kise if he wants to give him a gift that he seriously gave thought to it.

At Kise's nod, she smiled. "How about we go gift-hunting tomorrow?"

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	11. 第11章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **11** **章**

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— **日** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **17** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

"Akumicchi! Over here!" Kise waved at the newcomer, and heads turned as everyone in the café looked at the person that had earned the model's attention. A girl with chartreuse hair wearing a gray sweater over black leggings and black boots was smiling pleasantly at the beaming blond, and everyone wondered if she was Kise's girlfriend.

"You're the popular one, do you know that?" she quipped as she sat across Kise, her hand waving a waiter over to their table. She scanned the menu, and Kise followed suit. "Mind keeping it down? I don't want to attract attention."

Kise smiled in his usual carefree way. "Don't worry, Akumicchi! I'll protect you!"

She hummed. "How chivalrous of you~"

"I'm sure you can scare them off if they got too close."

She raised a brow in amusement, then informed the waiter of her choices. "I'll have a mocha frappe and red velvet cake."

"Cappuccino and black forest cake for me!"

The waiter bowed before leaving to get their orders, and Kise found himself staring at the girl before him, his face in his hand, while the chartreusette was busy looking at the people outside through the glass wall of the cafeteria.

 _Akumicchi is like a doll_ , he thought absentmindedly, taking in Kimiko's face with her captivating eyes with bewitching golden depths, her long eyelashes that brushes against her rosy cheeks whenever she blinks, her delicate nose, and her pink lips that looks oh so delectably attractive especially when she smiles...

"Beautiful...," he murmured. The girl heard him though and she turned to face him, eyes lit in wonder.

"You were saying, Ryouta?" she asked, and Kise still finds it a bit disconcerting that this new Kimiko was a tad nicer and more mellow than the one he knew from middle school. Not that he was complaining.

 _Maybe_ _it_ _comes_ _with_ _growing_ _up_ , he reasoned.

"Nothing, Akumicchi!" he replied with a grin. "Ne, Akumicchi, I am really happy that you are here with me right now."

She stared at him for a moment, then blinked once, twice, before mirroring Kise's position, resting her chin on the back of her hand. Kise had this stupid grin on his face, like he was trying to stop himself from smiling wider, if that was even possible. "You look like an idiot right now."

"Akumicchi!"

She laughed. "I'm happy as well. There's not a single day that I didn't thought of you guys when I was in France."

"So does that makes me special to Akumicchi?" Kise asked excitedly.

Kimiko's lips quirked in a half-smile. Kise really acts like a child. "Of course. You all are. You're like a younger brother to me, regardless of the height difference. I don't know, I just have this tendency to always look out for you."

Kise managed to hide his disappointment pretty well. Since the first time he met the chartreusette, he already wanted to be the one for her. However, he had been a year too late - someone had already managed to lay claim to her heart without her knowing.

"Aww, Akumicchi is so sweet ~!" he said, smiling despite the pain in his chest.

Just then, the waiter returned with their food, and the two talked about Kaijou's ex-captain. Kise told her everything he knew about Kasamatsu, which was a lot — to the point that Kimiko eyed him suspiciously.

"You sure you're not stalking him?"

"I do not! I'm just — observant! Yeah, that's it! I'm just observant!"

"Alright, alright, if you say so," she drawled, not believing him.

"Akumicchi, you have something on your —" Kise placed his fork down and with his thumb, he wiped the icing on the corner of her lips. "There! Gone now!"

"You could have just told me," Kimiko said.

"Hmm, can I have a bite, Akumicchi?" Kise asked, eyeing her red velvet with obvious interest.

"Yeah, sure." And saying that, she surprised him when she took a forkful of her cake with her and offered to him. "Here, say 'Aah!'"

Kise leaned in and let her feed him. He savored the sweetness of it, and closed his eyes in bliss. _We're acting like a real couple,_ he realized, but he tried his best to not let it get to him. _How can I ever let go of these unrequited feelings?_

"So, how about a new guitar, then? An acoustic?" she suggested. "You've mentioned that his guitar was a bit old. Let's get him a new one."

The two went to a music shop that Kise had visited once with Kasamatsu when Kaijou's captain bought new strings for his guitar. They headed to where several acoustic guitars are on display and Kise's eyes sparkled when he remembered that Kasamatsu had been eyeing one in a metallic blue color that time.

"Akumicchi, I think this one would be perfect," he said, pointing to said guitar. Kimiko smiled. Indeed, the guitar's color was nice.

"If you say so. Get it then, and let's pay up."

Kimiko included a capo and an extra set of strings and Kise went up and paid for it. It cost him quite a fortune but the blond didn't mind; he can always earn that back easily with his part-time job as a model.

As they waited for a cab, Kise suddenly had an idea. "Akumicchi, are you free next Sunday?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Wanna go with me to a photo shoot?"

Her eyes brightened. It was her turn to get excited. "Really?"

Kise laughed. "Hai! Really. I'll pick you up?"

"What time?"

"Around seven in the morning. The shoot starts at 8:30 but if we go early, I'll give you a tour and introduce you to my manager."

"Sure!"

On the ride back home, both had smiles on their faces — one from excitement of seeing how the other's workplace looks like, and the other from excitement of getting to spend more time with the other.

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— **水** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **20** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

It was Wednesday, and Kimiko had nothing to do in her house but to mope around with nothing to do. Yesterday she'd gone to Teikou to check things up with her "students" and she was glad to know that they were all doing fine. However, they don't have practice today due to some school meeting and thus, she has no reason to go to Teikou today. She tossed and turned in her bed.

"What to do, what to do..." she grumbled, lying face down on the soft mattress.

Her phone beeped and she reached for the device on top of the pillow. Her movements were lethargic as she slid open the screen lock with a swipe of her hand and read the message.

 _ **[From: Himuro Tatsuya]**_

 _ **10:16AM: Good morning, Akumi.**_

Kimiko rolled over and smiled as she read the message. She reached out for a pillow and placed it above her stomach as she typed a reply to Himuro.

 _ **[To: Himuro Tatsuya]**_

 _ **10:17AM: Ohayou, Tatsuya.**_

She pressed 'Send' and a few minutes later, he replied.

 _ **[From: Himuro Tatsuya]**_

 _ **10:19AM: Are you free this Sunday?**_

"Hmm? Why would he—" she raised an eyebrow. Her fingers were already typing her reply. She wondered out loud, "He's not asking me on a date, is he?"

 _ **[To: Himuro Tatsuya]**_

 _ **10:19AM: I have someplace to go this Sunday. Why do you ask?**_

 _ **[From: Himuro Tatsuya]**_

 _ **10:20AM: I was thinking of inviting you out for a dinner or a movie together, if that's fine with you. How about Saturday?**_

"Dinner? Movie?" she read out loud. "Hmm, well, he's a nice guy, though. No harm in going out with him to eat ..." She remembered being asked out countless of times back in middle school, however, all of those ended in one of the Miracles or Nijimura scaring out the poor guy for life.

Thanks to them, she was pretty much single in all her years in middle school.

 _Eh, but I had_ him _back then..._ she thought, only to shake her head to stop herself from reminiscing.

 _ **[To: Himuro Tatsuya]**_

 _ **10:21AM: Sure. We can go out this Saturday. Just tell me when and where.]**_

 _ **[From: Himuro Tatsuya]**_

 _ **10:21AM: I'll get you from your house after lunch. Movie first, then we'll eat out. Is that okay with you?**_

 _ **[To: Himuro Tatsuya]**_

 _ **10:23AM: Yep. I guess you're staying in Tokyo this weekend?]**_

 _ **[From: Himuro Tatsuya]**_

 _ **10:24AM: Yeah. At a friend's house, so you don't have to worry about me getting home late. :P**_

She giggled at the cheeky comment. "Idiot," she mumbled.

 **[To: Himuro Tatsuya]**

 **10:25AM: Hmp. Fine. See you Saturday ^_^**

 **[To: Himuro Tatsuya]**

 **10:25AM: Thanks. Gotta go, break's over. Saturday, then :)**

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 **** Akita, Japan ****

 **秋田** **、** **日本**

It was currently the fifteen-minute break and Murasakibara had caught up with his partner in the cafeteria. However, said partner was not really eating his snack but was busy texting someone and grinning all the while, which was very uncharacteristic of him. Disturbed, Murasakibara cannot help but say, "Muro-chin, stop smiling like that. You look like an idiot."

Himuro glared at the purple giant beside him at the cafeteria and pocketed his phone. "What are you talking about, Atsushi?"

Murakibara frowned at Himuro's retreating form. _Muro-chin is being weird._

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 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

"So where to go? Shutoku or Seirin?" Kimiko wandered around Tokyo, and her feet led her to a certain green-haired _Oha_ - _Asa_ follower. It was late afternoon; classes were already out, and several students on their way out stared at the chartreusette as she went the opposite way. The gym was easy to spot since it was huge one. As she neared the door, she can hear the shouts of the club members and the squeaks of their shoes as they did their warm-ups, followed by a dribbling sound and the swish of the ball through the net.

"Kimi-chan?" A voice spoke behind her, and she stopped and turned, surprised.

"Kazunari!"

Takao grinned at her. "Nice to see you again, Kimi-chan! You're visiting Shin-chan?"

Kimiko nodded. "Yeah, thought I'd drop by since I was in the vicinity."

"Then let's go!" Takao led the way to the gym, then he stopped at the door and called out in a loud voice.

"Shin-chan, Kimi-chan's here to see you!"

Midorima, who was in the process of shooting one of his famous high projectile three's, released the ball too early due to Takao's shout, causing it to graze the ring before falling right in. His eye twitched in irritation. He turned to glare at the chuckling hawk.

"Takao!"

"That's the first time I saw that happen to your shot, Shintarou. So this guy here is the one who can make the great shooter to miss his shot?"

Midorima blinked. "Akumi... What are you doing here?"

Before they could continue their conversation, Miyaji passed by him and smacked his head, causing his glasses to get askew. "Talk to your girlfriend later, Midorima! And you too, Takao! You're late! Get to practice! She can watch from the bleachers."

Kimiko could hardly contain her laughter. The look on Midorima's face was priceless! Takao was laughing manically beside her, and she elbowed him lightly.

"Get going, you idiot!" she whispered harshly, and that stopped the boy from his laughing fest. Midorima had already turned his back to them and was talking to Miyaji, probably clearing things up. Takao apologized to her then went to the side of the court and did his own warm-ups before joining Midorima. Kimiko watched them from above and noticed how close the two were to one another. Their plays were perfectly in sync. And it was there that she saw the move that Midorima and Takao used against Akashi during the Winter Cup.

"Amazing," she said to herself. "So that Takao is skilled in passing and a wide field of vision, too. An excellent point-guard..."

Down on the court, Midorima overheard someone say, "Midorima-san's girlfriend is beautiful, ne?"

Takao chuckled at his partner's expression. "What's with the face, Shin-chan?"

"Tsk. Miyaji-senpai just had to open his loud mouth and say that Akumi is my girlfriend. And now everyone in the club thinks the same thing."

Takao slapped him on the back, earning a glare from the ace. "You look pretty cute together, though. And you're pretty close if you're on a first-name basis."

"S-shut up, Takao." Midorima then added, "And Akumi insists on calling her by her first name."

"Eh? Is Shin-chan blushing?" Takao stood on tiptoes and brought his face closer to Midorima's flustered one, causing Midorima to blush even more.

"Get away, Takao!" He shoved the ball he was carrying to Takao's hands and jogged away to the other end of the court, leaving the raven-head confused at his reaction.

 _What's with him?_ he thought as he dribbled the ball and ran towards the green-head, who went into his shooting motion, and Takao passed the ball smoothly into his waiting hands. Midorima caught the ball mid-air and shot a graceful three.

Above them, Kimiko smiled mischievously. "Oh my, is that love I see?" She snickered when Midorima automatically held out his hand to receive Takao's high-five. "Hmm, never thought I'd see the day that Shintarou finds his partner," she mused, looking down at Shutoku's very own light-and-shadow duo.

A small smile formed on her lips. "They're doing fine... I'm glad."

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	12. 第12章

**Author's Note:** Just formatting edits... This is one of my favorite chapters so I left most of it untouched. Clarifications on the timeline, though.

The three major tournaments are Interhigh in summer, Nationals in autumn, and Winter Cup in winter ( _duh_ ). In the original, Kimiko left _**before**_ the Nationals, but here, I decided to make her leave _**after**_ the Nationals, or to be more specific, just before the Winter Cup, because I realized that it was too early in the school year if she was to leave in, let's say September or October. Kimiko will be there when Teikou scored 111 points to Meikou's 11 points (Yep, watch out for that additional scene in later chapters.)

The timeline does not exactly match the one in canon. Let me give you a quick summary.

 **First** **year** \- Kimiko was training manager, Akashi was vice-captain, Nijimura was captain, and Kuroko didn't join the team until after the Nationals. Kimiko and Akashi met him late in September, joined the first string in early November, and played with the team during during practice games.

 **Second** **year** \- Kise joins in April and was promoted to first string in early June, Njimura cedes the captaincy to Akashi after the IH in July, Shirogane falls ill soon after Akashi's promotion so Kimiko and Akashi becomes first-string coach and captain around the same time, Akashi kicks out Haizaki before the Nationals in September and Kise was his official replacement, Aomine starts to change after the Winter Cup.

 **Third** **year** \- the year where all things went downhill. Aomine worsened after IH, Murasakibara challenged Akashi before the Nationals causing Akashi to change, Teikou defeats Meikou, Akashi chokes Kimiko late in November, Kimiko leaves soon after so she was no longer there when Teikou joins their last Winter Cup, Kuroko also resigns after Kimiko left.

There. Just to straighten out the inconsistencies I found in the flashbacks. Yey.

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **12** **章**

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 _"_ _ **So tell me why baby, they might call me crazy for saying I'll fight until there is no more...**_ _"_

 _Akashi watched their_ trainingmanager _sing her way into the first-string gym, a piece of paper in her hands. She was fresh from the meeting on the allocation of club funds, and with the Interhigh just a few weeks ahead, it is essential that their club be given a fairly larger amount than what was given on off-seasons. Momoi was supposed to be the one to attend said meeting, as Kimiko was the one handling the training, but the pinkette was on one of her recon missions, and thus Kimiko offered to take her place. After all, she was the one who sent Momoi on that particular assignment, after Akashi himself had mentioned to the chartreusette in a passing comment about the petal-haired manager's skill in information gathering. In just three months, the two girls had proven to be of great help to the team – even the head coach was impressed. Of course, no one expected two freshmen girls to be as dedicated to their jobs as managers; Momoi, he understands, since her childhood friend was on the team but as for Kimiko, well, he has no idea._

 _Aside from the fact that she was a demoness when it comes to their training._

 _Kimiko's face had that triumphant look as she skipped to their captain with a bright greeting of "Shouzo-taichou!", waving the paper high in the air and directing the upperclassman's gaze to it._

 _"Aa, Akumi... So how did the meeting go?" he heard Nijimura ask the chartreusette, who promptly held the paper in front of the surprised male as he read what was written on the sheet. Nijimura stared with wide eyes at the figure written on the area labeled_ Amount _. "How did you...?"_

 _Kimiko was saying in a wistful tone, "Hmm, well, I tried going for more, but then, there won't be anything left for the other clubs to divide amongst themselves so —"_

 _"Nah, this is even better than what I expected. Last year we only got about half. Good job, Akumi. Though I wonder... How were you able to get as much funds for the club?" Nijimura said the last part with narrowed eyes, to which she smiled impishly, confirming his suspicions. "Akumi, you didn't, or did you? My instructions was to_ peacefully _negotiate with the treasury —_ peacefully _! What about that part did you_ not _understand?"_

 _The girl pretended to think. "Well, I remembered_ peacefully _threatening them, though...", causing Nijimura to facepalm at their cheeky manager._

 _Her laughter echoed in the closed walls of the gym. Everyone present stopped their training to look at their_ strict _captain and equally_ strict _manager and wondered how the ever-scowling Nijimura was able to elicit such a response from the chartreusette. At the sudden silence of the gym, aside from her own voice, Kimiko composed herself in a heartbeat, and with a menacing glare directed to everyone in the vicinity, she barked a curt "Back to your training!", which sent everyone scrambling to resume whatever drills their division was supposed to be doing. No one wants to incur the wrath of their golden-eyed demon manager unless they have a death wish._

— **水** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **20** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Kyoto, Japan ****

 **京都** **、** **日本**

In Rakuzan's gym, Akashi performed drills with the rest of the team, calling out orders and executing it with them as well. After thirty minutes of passing-and-shooting exercises, he called for a ten-minute water break, to which everyone was grateful for. With a towel slung around his neck, Akashi checked his clipboard for the next set of drills as he drank from a bottle of cold mineral water that Mibuchi had handed him earlier. They were practicing hard for the delayed Nationals, and after that loss during the winter's tournament, Rakuzan was determined to get the trophy this time. With Akashi having returned to his old self, victory was almost certain for the rest of the team. Even though this version of Akashi was more or less the same as the one they first met when it comes to training and all, his game plans were focused more on teamwork and not on individual strengths, which makes them even more formidable. Given that their individual skills were already excellent than most, combining them all together makes them almost invincible to a point.

"Sei-chan, I was thinking, maybe we should consider finding a capable person to handle the training menus next year," Mibuchi told him in the changing room after practice. "Not that I'm saying you can't handle it, but what with your academics, student council and club president duties — not to mention your family duties..." Mibuchi trailed off. "I'm just worried about you overworking yourself. You tend to do that sometimes."

Akashi didn't look him in the eye as he was taking his change of clothes in his locker. "I'll consider your suggestion, Mibuchi. Yes, things are quite tiresome indeed. I appreciate your concern, though."

"You need to take care of yourself more, Sei-chan. I don't think you even realize that you're too selfless," Mibuchi said with a shake of his head. Then he added an afterthought. "You know, I still find it odd when you call me by my last name."

"Somebody used to tell me that some years ago." Akashi had an almost nostalgic look in his eyes, but it disappeared before Mibuchi could ask him further on the subject as the redhead turned to him and ask in a curious tone. "Oh, is that so? Does it make you feel uneasy?"

"No, not really. It's just, taking me some time to get used to it."

Akashi hummed and nodded thoughtfully. A while later, underneath the shower taps, he remembered yet another memory from 3 years ago.

It was when he first met her as the manager of the famed Teiko's basketball club.

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 _Classes were finally over on their first day of formal classes, and Akashi, along with the other interested applicants, had gone to the main gym of Teikou for the tryouts. There they were introduced to the head coach, Shirogane Kōzō, and to those who handle the first-, second-, and third-string divisions. They met the team captain, a sophomore with black hair and sharp gray eyes — Nijimura Shuuzo, the number one power forward in middle school, and also an incredible point guard._

 _And then, there was_ that _girl_ _._

 _Akashi recognized her immediately, what with her unique hair color of bright lime-green and piercing golden eyes. She was his classmate, and just like she had done earlier in their class, the girl stepped forward, confident and proud, a clipboard clutched in front of her chest, and introduced herself to the intrigued crowd of males before her. For some reason, she gave a cocky look at one of the coaches behind her — Sanada Naoto— and in a clear voice, she stated her name and her position._

 _"Listen, everyone! I'm Kimiko Akumi, freshman, and I'm your training manager." All the coaches, even Nijimura, was watching her intently from behind. To Akashi, it seemed like they were evaluating Kimiko in some way, though why the need for such thing for a mere manager he has no idea, but Kimiko seemed to be ignoring their intense gazes and continued on with her task._

 _His companions seemed to be talking to one another about their_ cute _manager — he overheard the boy beside him say to his friend — and soon enough, the gym was buzzing with their whispers. Nijimura was about to tell them to shut up, but the girl beat him to it._

 _"Done talking?" She did not even raise her voice, but everyone heard her just fine. At their silence, she smiled at them, but the threat was clear in her golden orbs. "Good. Now, let's continue, shall we?" There was something in her tone that demanded one's attention and respect. An admirable trait, and he could see the head coach nodding his head in agreement._

 _"First up is the placement test. Remember that only the first string gets to play in official games as part of the regular roster. Thus, if you want to be on the court, then give it your very best. Nijimura-taichou here will be explaining the nature and mechanics of the test, and you better listen up. Now, then," she turned to their captain. "Captain, if you may," and she gave the floor to Nijimura._

 _During the tests, Kimiko stood beside Nijimura on the side of the court, watching each of them as they did the routine instructed and demonstrated to them by Nijimura at the beginning. Once in a while, they would talk to one another, commenting on the person doing the drills at that moment. Finally, everyone had finished the exam and gathered in front of the stage, and Kimiko addressed them once more._

 _"So, the results are out! When I call your name, please line up in front of your respective coaches. Let's start with the third string."_

 _She ratted off a series of names._

 _"...#28, Shimada Shunsuke. #30. Tanaka Ito. #31. Kuroko Tetsuya. That's all for the third string. Good job. Next, second string."_

 _Another series of names._

 _"...#14. Dai Kuroki. #35. Yagi Masao. Congratulations."_

 _By then, most were already expecting her to wrap things up, but the girl was not yet through with her announcement. She took a deep breath._

 _"And now for the first string."_

 _The third- and second-stringers looked at her in confusion._

 _"Did she just say_ firststring _?"_

 _"She's kidding, right?"_

 _"I thought no one makes first-string on the first try?"_

 _Kimiko rolled her eyes, and glanced at her clipboard once again._

 _"First string," she repeated as if to emphasize the fact. "#8, Aomine Daiki. #11. Midorima Shintarou. #23. Murasakibara Atsushi. And lastly, #29. Akashi Seijuurou."_

 _Her eyes strayed to his person for a mere second before it wandered off to the others. She lowered her clipboard to her side._

 _"That's all."_

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 _Kimiko was not the only manager of Teikou's basketball team. The next day, another freshman, a pink-haired one this time, came over and joined Kimiko. Her name was Momoi Satsuki and was the childhood friend of Aomine Daiki, one of the first-years that made it to first string with him. Several more girls came in the following days to help with the club duties, but only the first two made an impression to the young heir._

 _Kimiko was assigned to the first-string specifically, and the reason was revealed to the rest of them on the second day. Posted on the wall of the first-string gym, written in her fine solid handwriting, was a twelve-month training schedule devised by the chartreusette herself, and a closer inspection would reveal a well-planned menu that maximizes the time alloted to club activities and the resources available to them. The chart was divided in three sections under the labels 'Pre-season', 'In-season' and 'Off-season', under each of which was a detailed list of activities on strength conditioning, power and jump training, speed and agility drills, aerobic and anaerobic conditioning, and flexibility exercises. Akashi, in all honesty, was impressed. She had clearly given much thought on this matter before she came up with the final thing._

 _Nijimura rounded them up, and announced that they'll be having a fitness test first thing that afternoon. Everyone performed them perfectly, and Kimiko recorded all their data in her black leather-covered notebook. The next day, she arrived in class looking a bit sleepy, and Akashi found out why later during their practice. From the results of their fitness test the day before, the girl had practically spent all night drafting out their individual training menus that was designed to bring their skills to a certain level in a period of three weeks. She stifled a yawn as she handed Akashi his menu._

 _"Here you go..." She covered her face with the rest of the papers as she cannot held her yawn any longer. "Excuse me." Her eyes were a bit teary._

 _"Oi, Akumi, don't go straining yourself too much," Nijimura said in brotherly concern as she gave him his menu last. He read what she had written for him, and he glanced at the once-again yawning chartreusette. One of her eyes was closed, and when she wiped the tears that gathered at the corners of her eyes, Akashi was reminded of a cat that was washing its face with its paws._

 _"You're really good at this..." Nijimura said in a low voice, awed. "Where did you learn all this?"_

 _"Tell you later, Captain," she replied with a smug smile. "Right now, you have training to do." And to the rest of the first-string, she said louder. "All of you as well. Follow what was written on your papers. Now hop to it." She blew her whistle as a signal. "Hajime!"_

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"See you tomorrow, Sei-chan!" Mibuchi bid him goodbye as they reached the part where they have to part ways. Turning their backs to one another, they continued their journey home on their own, Mibuchi plugging in his headphones and singing along to some J-Pop song, while Akashi walked on in silence, still lost in his reminiscing of the past.

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 _He was passing by a branch of Maji's which was near his apartment when out of the fast food joint's door stepped a certain chartreusette, biting down on a burger. Their eyes met and they stopped, regarding each other silently, carefully._

 _"Seijuurou," she said by way of greeting when she had swallowed her food._

 _A trait of Kimiko: she calls everyone by their first names, except when she was talking about a person to a crowd. Like, she would call their captain_ Nijimura _-_ senpai _(outside the gym) or_ Nijimura _-_ taichou _(inside the gym) only when she was referring to him in front of or to other people, but when she was talking with him face-to-face, she would use his first name_ Shuuzo _._

 _"Kimiko-san," Akashi greeted back politely._

 _She frowned lightly, then told him "You make me feel old. Call me Akumi."_

 _Before they knew it, they were walking side by side, chatting about small things, and Akashi was able to find some interesting things about their manager. Even though she has the tendency to be sarcastic at times, Akashi does not find her boring to talk to, unlike most people he comes across in his daily life._

 _"Here's my place," she said, stopping at a modest two-story house three blocks away from his. "Where's yours? Is it still far from here?"_

 _"No, it's that one over there," he pointed to a towering building up ahead. She nodded, then gave him a smart pat on the shoulder._

 _"Oh, I see. Well, nice talking to you, Seijuurou. And thanks for the company," she had a knowing smile on her face. "Though I never expected the heir to be like this. Guess I was wrong. See you tomorrow then!"_

 _She turned to go, but Akashi stopped her by grabbing her wrist._

 _"What?" she asked._

 _Akashi was looking at her intently. "How did you know I was —?"_

 _"Hah?" she shook her hand, releasing it from his grip. "I don't know, maybe because of your_ name _?" she said sarcastically._

 _"You expecting special treatment for that?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "Nah, I don't think so. So what is it? What's the fuss with me knowing you as the heir? It's not like I'm gonna shout it out from the rooftops..."_

 _Akashi blinked at her answer. "Sorry. I was just surprised. No one else at school seemed to notice it yet, aside from you."_

 _She rolled her eyes at him. "Like, duh, they're all idiots, anyway. And you're wrong — I'm not the only one who knows about your_ secret _identity. Nijimura-senpai does, too. And sooner or later, the whole school will realize who you are as well."_

 _"..."_

 _"Does it matter?" She shrugged. "Heir or not, so what? It's just a name, no need to sweat it. What you need sweating over is our training tomorrow. Being an Akashi won't let you get special water breaks or whatever, so prepare yourself. Ja," she turned on her heel and waved at him once. "See ya."_

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 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

Kimiko walked the rest of the way back home alone, softly singing a nostalgic melody after parting with Midorima and Takao at the intersection. Back in middle school, that intersection was where their group would finally disband into smaller ones — Aomine and Momoi (joined by Kuroko later), Midorima and Murasakibara (sometimes with Nijimura - and was replaced by Kise later), and then there was her and Akashi.

"Why does it have to end like that...?" She murmured, pausing for a while in her singing and looking up into the late afternoon sky. It was still the same horizon that she saw every afternoon years ago — the same red-orange sky and the same yellow rays of the sun that always made his hair look like it was aflame.

She picked up where she left off, and realized with a start how fitting the song was to her state right now. She smiled bitterly at the coincidence of it all, as memories of days long ago flashed in her mind with every line she sang.

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 **Wakare michi de yubi wo hanashi**

 **Futari se wo mukete arukidasu**

 _At our parting point, we'd let go of the other's fingers_

 _Turn our backs toward each other and walk our own ways_

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 _"Ja, see you all tomorrow. Satsuki, c'mon."_

 _"Dai-chan, I haven't said goodbye to Akumi-chan yet — Dai-chan!"_

 _"Hmm, I think I'll go buy some snacks~ Midochin, you go ahead~"_

 _"Murasakibara, you already have eaten enough snacks for today. Akashi said so. Not that I'm worried for your health or anything."_

 _"See you tomorrow, everyone. Keep safe on your way home."_

 _"Ja, minna — another day of training tomorrow! Look forward to it and get lots of rest tonight!"_

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 **Futo furikaetta saki ni**

 **Kimi no sugata wa mou nakatta**

 _When I suddenly looked back_

 _You were no longer there_

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 _"See you tomorrow, Seijuurou," she said, stopping in front of her apartment building._

 _"You too, Akumi. Don't stay up late," he replied, referring to her tendency to pore over the team's skill sheets and do a detailed - sometimes unnecessary - analysis of the results of their latest fitness test and see if she can do anything to improve it. "The preliminaries are going well, and we can still get the championship this Interhigh if we just continue with the existing training menu."_

 _"Hai, hai... Now run along, it's getting late." She dismissed him with a wave of her hand, as if she was shooing a bird or something._

 _"Aren't you going inside yet?" he asked when she remained by the gate._

 _"Aren't you going home yet?" She shot back, and the redhead sighed._

 _"Remember what I told you, Akumi. Go to sleep after you finished your homeworks."_

 _"Yes, yes, I know. Just go already." When she can no longer see Akashi's figure, that was her cue to go inside as well._

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 **Kimi no hanasu koto kimi no kaku mono**

 **Kyou mita keshiki wo wasurenai**

 _The stories you told me the - visions you painted_

 _The scenery we saw today-I won't ever forget_

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 _"If we keep going like this, no doubt, soon we'll be the best basketball team in Japan," she said, flipping over the pages of her black notebook where she kept all the records of their individual and team progress. They were now preparing for the Winter Cup, and as she reviewed their scores in all their matches during the newly-concluded Nationals, Winter Cup would be theirs as well. "What do you think, Seijuurou? Seijuurou?"_

 _Akashi snapped from his daze. Kimiko looked at him curiously. "You seem to be thinking a lot the past few days."_

 _"Oh, yes, I am..."_

 _"Aren't you satisfied with the results of the tournament? We're the champions, right?"_

 _Akashi nodded. "We did win, but there were a few times when it was a close shave. Thinking one or two years ahead, we can't say things are concrete."_

 _She closed her notebook. "Oh, nothing that additional training can't fix..." Kimiko grinned as his eyes widened for a moment._

 _"Our current training menu is perfect as it is, Akumi." The words_ We're doing our very best to keep up with your high-but-still-reasonable-standards _were left unsaid, yet it was evident in the redhead's tone. "It's just that everything is too straightforward. Our victory was gained through sheer difference in skill to our opponents. However, we can't say that will always work. What I want is a curveball... For instance, a valued sixth man who can change the game's momentum when deemed necessary..."_

 _Kimiko listened to Akashi's explanation with a thoughtful look on her face. "A player of that nature... One with a specialized skill — you think we can find someone like that in the club?"_

 _"I haven't found someone in the first-string that have the potential to be that person. But I have a feeling that he's somewhere nearby."_

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 **Kedo omou hodo ni**

 **Naze da ka kowakute**

 **Nagai kage no watashi mo mata yuraida**

 _But the more I thought of them_

 _The more anxious I felt, somehow_

 _The long shadow of mine trembled_

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 _They entered the third-string gym with Murasakibara and Midorima behind them._

 _"Aomine," Akashi called out. The tanned boy looked at them, a ball in his hand._

 _"Akashi."_

 _"I noticed that you've been absent for training the past few days. I was thinking that you've been disregarding the menu I assigned to you for the next two weeks. So you were here all that time?"_

 _"Yeah. Since the other gym's pretty crowded, so the two of us always practice here."_

 _"The two of you?" Akashi asked._

 _"Hey, what's your name?" Akashi turned his head to look at the person whom Kimiko had directed her question, and was surprised to see another boy standing beside Aomine, who was staring at them in wonder._

 _"Huh? Was there a guy like this on our team?" Murasakibara asked, looking at the pale boy with sky-blue hair and eyes._

 _"Your name?" Kimiko asked again._

 _"Ku-Kuroko Tetsuya desu" was the quiet reply._

 _"Oh, third-string," she commented. Of course, she remembered — she was the one who called his name during the placement test at the beginning of the year._

 _Murasakibara immediately lost interest when he learned that this Kuroko was from the third-string. Weak, was what the purple-haired boy thought. He yawned. "Can we go now? I'm pretty sleepy~"_

 _"Shintarou, Atsushi, you can go on ahead."_

 _Akashi was still observing Kuroko. "Strange..." he said quietly. Then in a louder voice, he said, "I'm slightly interested in him."_

 _"Hmm? Love at first sight, Seijuurou?" Kimiko quipped, earning an incredulous look from all three boys in there._

 _Akashi sighed. Turning back to Kuroko, he said apologetically, "Don't mind her. Can you come with me for a moment?"_

 _"I want in! Daiki can wait outside, but not me!"_

 _"Oi,why do I have to go outside?! Can't you just —"_

 _"Out, Daiki, out."_

 _"But —!"_

 _"Triple."_

 _"O-oi! Don't —!"_

 _"Quintuple?"_

 _"FINE!"_

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 **Arifureteru shiawase ni koi shita**

 **Sonna toki ga tsudzuku ki ga shiteta**

 **Nani mo ka mo ga hajimete no omoide**

 **Asu no koto sae shirazu ni ita**

 _I fell in love with that simple happiness_

 _I felt as if those days would continue_

 _Everything was a first memory for me_

 _I didn't even care about what would happen the day after_

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 _The ball missed the hoop._

 _Again._

 _"Okay, that's enough," Akashi spoke beside her. He had Kuroko show them his basic skills through a series of drills, and somehow, the redhead had seen something in the boy that Kimiko was yet to figure out._

 _"This is a first. Someone as devoted to basketball as you, yet the results don't come with the efforts," she commented, speaking her mind out._

 _It took Kuroko a while to process her words, and when it did, he was unsure if it was a compliment or an insult. "I'm sorry. I'm not in the mental state to accept that statement."_

 _"Akumi."_

 _"Yes, Seijuurou?"_

 _"There's no harm in being outspoken, but you need to know when to speak and when not to."_

 _"Hah?"_

 _Akashi ignored her last statement. "Again, don't mind her."_

 _"Seijuurou!"_

 _"From what I've seen, your motor skills are not terrible. Your career and amount of practice are enough to call you a veteran. Yet still, I don't feel nothing at all by looking at you."_

 _Kimiko said in realization, "Now that you mention it... It's a bit strange indeed. Practice hard in a sport and anyone's seasoned veteran's aura is bound to show itself. Yet with you, it's like nonexistent!"_

 _Kuroko seemed to wince at the girl's words._

 _"What Akumi means to say is that you lack presence. And even if she makes it sound like an insult, I assure you that it's not. In fact, your lack of presence is an advantage to you. If you can capitalize on it, it's sure to become an enormous weapon for the team."_

 _Kuroko was confused. "Capitalize on the lack of presence? Can I do something like that?"_

 _Akashi was about to say something, but Kimiko cut him off. It seems that she had figured out what Akashi was trying to tell Kuroko. "Seijuurou means to say that by using your lack of presence, you can do something like — Hmp!"_

 _His hand covered her mouth. "I'm sorry, but that is as much as we can tell you." Kimiko struggled to free herself, but to no avail. As Akashi exited the gym, dragging Kimiko with him, he gave Kuroko his last words._

 _"When you find the answer, come see me."_

 _Akashi heaved a sigh as they stepped outside into the deepening twilight. They were walking home together as usual, and the redhead had just finished lecturing her about her habit of speaking her mind outright without considering its effect on other people. Kimiko half-listened, answering a half-hearted "Understood" at the end of his speech._

 _"So is that our sixth man?" she asked him after a moment's silence._

 _"There's a great potential in that ability of his."_

 _"Then why did you stop me from giving him a hint or something? The guy looks pretty clueless, you know."_

 _Akashi's tone was cold and calculating when he answered to her question. "I've told him everything he needs to guide him in his search for the answer. It won't do any good if we were to spoon-feed him — that would defeat the purpose. I only let the string hang down... Whether or not he can use it to climb up depends on him."_

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 **Donna toki mo dake wo mite ite**

 **Kimi no tame ni warau hazu datta**

 **Dakedo toki no naka ni sorete yuki**

 **Kimi no te ga hanarete shimau**

 _I'd look at you at all times_

 _And smile for you-or so it was supposed to be_

 _But we started to stray from each other in the flow of time_

 _And your hand left mine_

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That was the first time she saw that side of Akashi. That time, though, she just ignored it. In their team dynamics, Kimiko was seen as the evil one — the one who sends everyone to Hell with her harsh training regimen. It was only later when the 'other' Akashi emerged that the redhead was feared by the other members of their club. Between the two of them, Kimiko was the 'feared one', while Akashi was the 'respected one'. In their second year, when Nijimura passed the captaincy to Akashi, and Coach Shirogane appointed Kimiko as the first-string coach, the two were the ones who led Teikou to victory — Akashi leading the team on the court while she took care of them from the outside. Their personalities complimented each other well, and with Kise's addition to the team, it was almost perfect.

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 **Arifureteru shiawase ni koi shita**

 **Sonna toki ga ima mo yasashikute**

 **Furikaereba sono te ga sugu soko ni**

 **Aru you na ki ga ima mo shiteru**

 _I fell in love with that simple happiness_

 _Even now those days remain a gentle memory in me_

 _If I'd just turn back your hand would be right there for me_

 _Even now I still feel that way_

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Fast forward to their last year in middle school. Now dubbed as the Generation of Miracles after their consecutive victories in all the major tournaments in their two years of playing basketball, Teikou had its sight on the gold trophy that year as well, starting with Interhigh. However, things were starting to get out of control. Being prodigies themselves, and coupled with Kimiko's brilliant training, the five of them became so skilled to the point of invincibility. Kuroko was rarely sent to the court as the regular players' skills blossomed to new heights. There was no need for Momoi to do her intel job, and Kimiko was having doubts as to improve their training even more to match the level of their abilities. Everyone drifted apart. Their bonds were strained until it finally snapped. First Aomine, then then Murasakibara, and finally, Akashi, while Kise and Midorima all but ignored everyone else and focused on themselves. Arguments became the common thing before and after every match, and usually it ends up with some kind of a cold war among all of them. It was still bearable, but Kimiko managed to rein in her temper.

That is, until the issue of demoting Kuroko was once again brought up before her. It was the second time that she fought for the phantom's spot on the team — first was when she and Aomine had bargained with Coach Sanada to give the boy a second chance to prove his worth to the team back in first year — and now this. This time it was her alone, arguing against Akashi who was planning to send Kuroko back to third-string, just as cold as when he ejected Haizaki from the team even though Haizaki had contributed to the team in a way, but with Kise's arrival, keeping Haizaki would be useless when there's a much better choice than him. In the same way, it's like Kuroko was tolerated to be on the first-string since he was useful to the team, but now that he had used up his 'usefulness', it's the end of him as a regular player as well.

During that period of turmoil inside the club, everything before their Awakening seemed like a distant dream to her.

"What could I should have possibly done to prevent all those from happening?"

Kimiko had asked herself that question ever since she retreated to France to forget everything for a while, to clear her head, to take a breather. Even after all the things that had happened, she cannot find it in herself to hate them, to forget them, and though it pained her a lot in the past, here she was again, walking the same old path that had been witness to her smiles and laughters that soon faded to sadness and tears.

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 **Yuuhi wo se ni nagai kage wo tsurete**

 **Ima hitori de kono saka wo noboru**

 **Me wo tojireba**

 **Dareka wo sagashite iru**

 **Osanaki hi no watashi ni deau**

 _With the setting sun behind me and my long shadow as my company_

 _I am climbing up this slope all by myself_

 _When I close my eyes_

 _I see myself from my young days_

 _Searching for someone_

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In two different places in Japan, standing on different roads with the same setting sun behind them, two people gazed at their lonely shadows that was slowly lengthening in front of them, thinking of the time when there used to be two of them standing side by side, walking the same path, gazing at the same horizon, as the sun continued its slow descent in the west.

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	13. 第13章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **13** **章**

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— **金** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **22** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Akita, Japan ****

 **秋田** **、** **日本**

"Muro-chin, you have a message on your phone~," Murasakibara said, picking up the device where its owner had left it on the court-side bench. It was Friday, and Yosen's basketball team had just finished their practice for the day.

"Who is it from?" Himuro asked, walking over to his partner. He wiped the sweat from his face with a towel given to him by one of the blushing managers.

The purple-haired Miracle looked at the notification message flashing on the phone's screen with a pair of lazy eyes. "It's from—"

Violet eyes widened in surprise.

"From?" Himuro prompted, not seeing Murasakibara's surprised expression.

"Muro-chin."

Himuro stopped and stared at Murasakibara in confusion. Murasakibara sounded serious all of a sudden.

"Yes, Atsushi?"

Murasakibara shoved the phone in his face abruptly, causing him to step backward. Himuro looked at his partner's irritated face then to the screen of his phone.

 **One message from Kimiko Akumi.**

"Muro-chin, how long have you known Kumi-chin?"

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"You can go with us tomorrow, if you want. Kimiko wouldn't mind," Himuro offered. He had just told Murasakibara about his meeting with Teiko's former first-string coach, and Murasakibara, fortunately, understood Himuro's reason for not telling him about it immediately afterwards. He can't blame the raven-head anyway for feeling hesitant at opening this topic to either Kimiko or Murasakibara, what with all the drama involved in their past. It's their problem, not Himuro's — he doesn't have anything to do with it, and he doesn't want to stick his nose where it doesn't belong.

But if one of them asks for his help, he wouldn't refuse. That is, they have to ask him first.

"I can't," Murasakibara said with a frown.

"You have something to do tomorrow?" Practice was moved to Sunday instead since their coach had some business to attend to, and they don't have class either. In short, tomorrow was a free day for Yosen's basketball team.

"No~," Murasakibara replied. "But I don't know if Kumi-chin would like to see me..."

Himuro raised an eyebrow hidden under his bangs. "Why would you say that, Atsushi?"

Murasakibara's face expressed guilt and remorse, very unusual for the childish giant who never seemed to care much about the people around him. He hung his head and stared at his feet. "It wasn't only Aka-chin who hurt Kumi-chin back then..." He met Himuro's shocked gaze. "I did, too."

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

 _"Honestly, what's with them? Making Aominecchi play in games regardless of him coming to practice..."_

 _Club practice was already over for the day, and the members were doing clean-up. Murasakibara passed by, pushing the scoreboard off to one side. Midorima and Akashi was in charge of the balls, gathering and wiping them up before putting them back to the crate. Kise leaned on his mop as he thought as he thought about Coach Sanada's decision on Aomine's case._

 _"I don't know the head coach's true intent, but I cannot agree with it," Akashi said, handing a ball to Midorima._

 _Lost in his musings, the blond didn't notice Kimiko approaching him with a clipboard in hand, which she promptly used to smack him on the head._

 _"Itai! Akumicchi, what was that for?!" he wailed, rubbing the back of his head._

 _"Stop yapping and do your mopping..." she muttered, before tossing a ball she carried on her other hand to Akashi. Without another word, she turned and returned to her seat on the bench, working on the training menu for the third-string in an effort to help them improve their skills in time for the next promotional exam._

 _The members stared at her for a while. Lately, Kimiko had been quick to get irritated. She'd been like this ever since they won the InterHigh, which was around the time Aomine started slacking off. The third years have already graduated by then, with Nijimura going overseas to join his family in America where his father was sent for treatment._

 _"Akumi, is there a problem?" Akashi asked. He walked to where she was seated when Murasakibara suddenly commented on Kise's statement._

 _"About that... If it's okay to not practice as long as we win the games, I don't wanna practice either."_

 _Akashi stopped and turned sharply at him. "Don't be stupid. I can't possibly allow that."_

 _Murasakibara looked down on Akashi as the redhead approached him. "I mean, I don't feel like I'm going to lose at all. Besides," he drawled, "I at least listened to you till now, Aka-chin because I felt like I'd never be able to win against you." Murasakibara's gaze turned into a mocking one. "But lately, it feels like that's no longer the case." He lifted his chin in defiance as Akashi gritted his teeth at the insult hurled at him by the taller boy. "I don't wanna follow directions from people weaker than me."_

 _Akashi's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What was that?"_

 _Momoi, who had been watching the argument between their captain and their center along with the rest of the first-string members, went to intervene before things got worse._

 _"What is this? Mukkun, this is a joke, right?"_

 _Suddenly, there was a loud clatter from behind them. Everyone turned to where Kimiko stood, head bowed, hands clenched into fists at her sides. Her clipboard lay shattered in pieces on the gym's floor, where she had hurled it in her anger._

 _"Enough." She raised her head and her eyes were murderous. "I've had enough of all your egoistic talk. Everyone out of the gym this instant." No one moved. " I said, OUT!"_

 _At her shout, everyone present, except Akashi and Murasakibara, jumped in surprise. Feeling her glare on them, they hastened to follow her command. Everyone had left except for the Momoi, Kise, and Midorima when Murasakibara shifted his attention to the enraged girl._

 _"I won't listen to you, too, Kumi-chin. I don't need to do your training menus — I can still win without your help~"_

 _The silence in the gym after Murasakibara said those words was deafening._

 _"Stand aside," Akashi said, pushing Momoi out of his way but not too harshly. He then said to Murasakibara, "You're going too far with your words, Murasakibara. You are being ungrateful to Akumi. I simply cannot let this pass."_

 _"And what are you going to do, ne, Aka-chin?"_

 _Akashi looked up at the giant. "If I have to pin you down by force, then that is what I will do." He bent over to pick a ball lying near his feet. "One-on-one. Five scores to win. I'll make sure you'll never skip practice nor talk to me or Akumi that way."_

 _"No!" Kimiko ran to where they stood, knocking the ball from Akashi's hands. "Seijuurou, back off! And you, Atsushi, if I hear —"_

 _"I refuse, Akumi." Akashi had gone and retrieved the ball. Kimiko froze at the cold stare that the redhead fixed on Murasakibara. "He needs to know his place."_

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 _"Kuso..." Kimiko cursed as she gripped the marker in her hand as Murasakibara blocked Akashi's attempt to make a lay-up. She looked at the score._

 _4-0. In favor of Murasakibara._

 _"Wha—"_

 _"Impossible..." Midorima muttered. "To think it would be this one-sided..."_

 _On the court, Murasakibara stood in front of Akashi, who was panting slightly from exertion. This time, Akashi was on defense. Murasakibara looked down at his form and said, " Honestly, this is a bit... No, quite... disappointing. It's like impossible to listen to someone who can only go so far... Oh well," he backed away and dribbled the ball, preparing for his attack. "I make this shot, and I'll do whatever I want as promised, anyway."_

I, Akashi Seijuurou, am going to lose? This cannot be. Such a thing must not happen. I must win... No matter who it is against... No matter what happens... Victory is everything in this world. The victor is acknowledged, and the vanquished is disavowed.

 _Just as Murasakibara was about to drive past him, Akashi said, "Since I always win, I am always right." Suddenly, the ball flew out of Murasakibara's hands, and out of the court._

 _No one can fully comprehend what or how it happened._

 _"Hold it," Kise said in confusion. "What happened just now?"_

 _Midorima felt a chill run down his spine. "..I have no idea."_

 _Momoi watched in horror. "Something's different... This isn't the Akashi-kun we've known until now..."_

 _Calmly, Akashi went to get the ball. He had his back to the others. "You're getting a bit too carried away, Atsushi. Don't get me too angry. Anyone who acts against me is never forgiven." He turned, and his left eye flashed golden. "Even if they are my parents."_

 _Akashi won, 5-4._

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 _Murasakibara kicked the water bottles on his way out. "Well, I'm done for the day. Good work," he said with a careless wave of the hand._

 _"Wait, Mukkun!"_

 _Murasakibara brushed Momoi's concern. "I'm telling you, it's fine if I show up to practice like usual tomorrow, right? And Kumi-chin, I'm sorry. Ja~"_

 _"No. I am calling that off." Akashi stepped forward as Murasakibara turned with a glare at his captain._

 _"Ha?"_

 _"Do as you like. As long as we win our games."_

 _Midorima raised a cry of protest. "What are you talking about, Akashi? You just said—"_

 _"The same goes for both Midorima and Kise. All actions will be glossed over as long as we win our games."_

 _"Are you saying that—"_

 _Akashi cut Kimiko off. "Exactly what it is, Akumi. You don't have to improve our training menus. At our level, it's more of a waste of time to force everyone to get in step. It is more efficient to stop adjusting. In fact, it's better if you can focus on improving the members of the second and third-string. They're the ones who need it, not us."_

 _Kimiko leveled her eyes fearlessly into Akashi's. She clenched her hands at her side so tight that her fingernails bit into the flesh of her palm. "Are you saying that from now on, we'll be doing away with team play?"_

 _He smiled at her then, but not the smile that he used to give her back then. "As expected, you catch on very quickly, Akumi. That's right. For the Kiseki no Sedai, team play is nothing but a hindrance. But you don't have to worry about that. It's my responsibility as a team captain after all." Kimiko barely managed to stop herself from flinching as Akashi strode over and caressed her cheek, betrayal reflected on her golden orbs. "As long as you and I holds the team, nothing will go wrong. Victory will always be ours."_

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"And you haven't apologized to her properly after that?" Himuro sighed. To be honest, he wanted to give Murasakibara some serious beating, but then again, Murasakibara and the rest were all kids back then — immature, impulsive, careless — and thus, he couldn't really blame the purple-head for that. So not only was Murasakibara the one who triggered Akashi's awakening of his Emperor Eye, he was also the one to make the first of the many wounds to the chartreusette's heart.

"It wasn't that simple, Muro-chin..." Murasakibara replied, his face sullen. "We... The team was always at war after that, and Kumi-chin was already avoiding me..."

"Well, I wouldn't blame her for doing that. You told her such hurtful words — what would you do if someone just disregards all your hard work? I think, her training was part of how you managed to get as skilled as you are now. And as you have said to me before, Kimiko makes sure that you were all in perfect condition and even gives you snacks, right? She's probably disappointed at how ungrateful you were to all of her efforts, even though she might not be asking for something in return."

"Muro-chin, what should I do?" Murasakibara whined.

"Obviously you have to go and say sorry to her. It's probably over-delayed, but it's better than nothing, right?"

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— **日** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **23** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

In the end, Murasakibara didn't come with him to Tokyo. After getting off at the station, Himuro went straight to Kagami's apartment where he would be staying for the night. Alex greeted him at the door.

"Tatsuya!" She leaned forward to give him a kiss but Himuro was quick to evade. He chuckled as Alex pouted, letting him in through the door.

"So Tatsuya, what brings you to Tokyo?" she asked once everything was settled. The trio sat on couch, sipping juice that Kagami had prepared.

"I'm meeting a friend."

"A friend?" Kagami turned to Himuro. "I didn't know you had a friend here in Tokyo..."

"She's someone I met just recently."

Alex grinned. "A girl, Tatsuya?"

"Alex, we're just friends," Himuro clarified, seeing the wheels in the blonde's turning and chucking out assumptions. Though having Kimiko as someone more than a friend isn't a bad idea, either.

"Really?" Alex wiggled her eyebrows mischievously. "Enough for you to spend time and money by taking the four-hour trip from Akita?"

Himuro couldn't help but sigh. Trust Alex to exaggerate things. "Yes, just friends."

"If you say so..." she said in a singsong voice, obviously not believing him. Himuro then checked the time and excused himself. He still has to pick Kimiko up from her house, after all. When he was gone, Alex turned to Kagami with a playful smile.

"Taiga, come on. We have some spying to do."

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Himuro rang her doorbell twice, feeling a bit nervous for some reason as he stared at the door of her house. After a minute of no response from the occupant, he pressed the button twice, all the while thinking that maybe he was being impatient.

"Coming!" Kimiko yelled from upstairs and a moment later, the door swung open, revealing a freshly-showered Kimiko with her hair still wrapped up in a towel. Her eyes widened when she saw him and made her take a quick glance at her wristwatch. "Oh."

Himuro only smiled at her. "Am I too early?"

She shook her head and ushered him to come in. "Nope. I think I'm the one who's running late, actually. I'm sorry, this won't take long, just got to blow-dry this hell of a hair that I have..."

She was unraveling the towel from her hair as she spoke, and Himuro cannot help but stare at her. Kimiko's outfit was simple - just a plain wine-red sweater over a black skirt and black platform boots - however, she looks absolutely divine.

And she was yet to put on any type of make-up.

"-Tatsuya?"

At the sound of his name, it was then that Himuro realized that he had zoned out.

Feeling all sorts of stupid, Himuro laughed awkwardly and said, "It"s okay, Akumi. I'll wait."

"Alright," Kimiko said. "In the meantime, make yourself at home. If you want something to eat or drink, you can help yourself to the kitchen over there." She nodded at the direction of the kitchen then headed to the stairs. "I'll be back in five minutes tops."

True to her word, Kimiko returned within the promised time, a snow-white scarf wrapped around her slender neck. Aside from the lip gloss which she probably wore so as not to get her lips chapped in the cold weather, there was no visible trace of make-up on her face. Smiling at him, she asked, "Let's go?"

"Aa, let's go."

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"Uh, Tatsuya, why do you keep looking behind us?" The two were simply wandering around after seeing a movie, killing time until dinner. They had a good hour and a half to while away, and their feet led them to a park in central Tokyo.

"Nothing. It's just that —"

"Eh? Was that Taiga?" Kimiko's sharp eyes had caught sight of Seirin's ace who was trying to act inconspicuous while being dragged by a blond foreigner behind a lamp post. Himuro face-palmed at their epic efforts of hiding themselves when they were clearly in plain sight no matter what they do.

"How come you know Taiga?"

"I was about to ask you that. Tetsuya introduced me to him when I ran into his team at Maji's before."

Himuro nodded. "Taiga is my brother in all but blood. The woman with him is Alex, the one who taught us basketball in the States."

"Whoa, really? Awesome!" Then she frowned. "Though why are they following us?"

Himuro shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "That I do not know. Probably Alex's idea."

"Hey, I have an idea." The smile on Kimiko's lips was a sly one. She motioned Himuro to lean closer and she whispered her plan to him.

Himuro smiled in agreement. _Oh, Alex, you don't know who you were up against._

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"Taiga, faster! We're losing them!" Alex said impatiently. Kagami sighed but complied anyway — not that he have a choice. And truth be told, he was curious as to how Himuro had known Kuroko's former coach back in Teiko. Well, he'll just ask his brother about that later. For now, he's obliged to follow his mentor's orders and he quickened his steps.

 _Where did they go?_ he asked, scanning the crowd around them. He should have no trouble spotting them, what with Kimiko's bright hair and Himuro's height, but it's as if they suddenly gained Kuroko's misdirection and vanished into thin air.

"Can you see them?" Alex asked, standing on tiptoes and peering at the sea of people. After some time of fruitless search and wandering about in the weekend crowd of Tokyo, Kagami gave up.

"No, they suddenly vanished —"

A new voice cut him off. "People don't vanish — unless their name is Kuroko Tetsuya, right, Taiga?"

Alex and Kagami turned to find that the very people that they were searching for were standing right behind them — Kimiko with hands on her hips, Himuro beside her with a smug smirk at having outsmarted the two who were stalking them during his 'date' with the chartreusette.

"We were behind you all the time," Himuro said at Alex and Kagami's guilty faces.

"So this is your friend, Tatsuya?" Alex stared at the pretty girl before her, and smiled brightly at her to introduce herself. "Hi, I'm Alexandra Garcia, mentor to these two guys. Nice to meet you—?"

"Kimiko, Kimiko Akumi."

"Nice to meet you, Akumi-chan~"

Kimiko smiled back. "Nice to meet you too, Alex-san—Eh?!"

Himuro had grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side just as Alex was about to give her welcome kiss to the unknowing chartreusette. The two males cannot help but facepalm at this habit of their mentor.

"Alex, how many times do we have to tell you that you just can't kiss someone like that!"

Kimiko blinked. _Kiss? She's trying to kiss me?_ "Huh?"

"Ah, you see, Alex has this annoying habit of kissing people as a way of greeting," Himuro explained.

"Well, it's just a kiss, right?" she asked innocently, only to be confused by the looks on Himuro's and Kagami's faces.

"You don't know Alex yet, Kimiko-ah, I mean, Akumi," Kagami said flatly. Himuro continued it for him.

"Alex likes to kiss people on the lips."

"Wh-what — _Kyaa_!" Kimiko hid behind Himuro as the blond grinned at her and pursed her lips.

"Akumi-chan~!"

"Nooo! Tatsuya, get her away from me! I don't want to be violated!"

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"Royal Flush," Kimiko said proudly as she laid her cards on the table.

It was five in the afternoon, and Kimiko found herself in Kagami's apartment playing poker with them on the low table in the center of the room. A bunch of make-up from Alex's stuff was laid on one side, which they used as a form of punishment to the loser.

"Damn," Kagami grumbled as the three turned to him with evil smiles. He stared in horror as they picked their choice of make-up on the table. Alex was holding a blush-on, Himuro an eyeliner, and Kimiko a bright red lipstick.

"Taiga, look here!" and before he could protest, the chartreusette had already snapped a picture of him with her phone after they were done with his face.

"How come you haven't lost even once?!" Out of the four of them, only Kimiko's face remained unmarked. Kagami, who lost the most number of times, looked horrendous with his multicolored lips, cheeks painted red with multiple layers of blush-on, and circles drawn around his eyes. Himuro looked like a goth with his black lips, overly thick foundation, and a black line running from under his eye down to his cheek. Alex looked comical with her red nose, pink lips, darkened eyebrows, and whisker marks. Their faces were like a product of one messed-up make-up artist.

"I have lots of practice," Kimiko replied, shuffling the cards with expertise. "Try playing poker with a mind reader, and you'll know why."

"But you're like a mind reader yourself," Himuro said as he gathered his cards. Good thing he was adept at maintaining a poker face, or else everyone would see that his cards were bad ones.

Kimiko, on the other hand, looked at her cards with a smirk. No doubt she's gonna win this round again — the question is, who will end up last?

A few more rounds, and still, Kimiko was undefeated. When the clock struck six, Kagami stood up and said that he has to prepare dinner.

"Hey, let's have a group picture first!"

"Heh. You only want that because you looked decent..."

"Come on, Taiga," and Alex put an arm around Himuro and Kagami's shoulder, pulling them close as Kimiko stood in front of her, knees slightly bent so as not to cover Alex.

"Say cheese!" Kimiko clicked the button, and when it was done, everyone huddled around her to see the final photo. Everyone was smiling, even Kagami. "I'll post this on Facebook and Instagram!" After a year of silence from her social media, Kimiko was making up for lost time.

"What—No! You can't do that!" Kagami yelled, and Kimiko danced away from him as he tried to grab her phone. "Oi, Akumi!"

However, the chartreusette was already on it. With a few clicks, the photo was posted on her Instagram account. "Too late, Taiga!" and she laughed as Himuro sidled over to Kagami's side and gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"It's okay, Taiga..." Himuro said.

"No, it's not! Oi, you! Get back here!"

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"What will you cook?" Kimiko asked Kagami, who was peering inside his refrigerator, deciding on what to do for dinner.

"I'm still thinking..." he replied. At his sulking tone, the girl chuckled.

"Still sore about that? It was a good picture, though..."

"Shut up... Tsk." Beside her, Himuro laughed lightly.

"Pft." She stood up from the couch and walked to where Kagami is. Looking at the available ingredients, a thought struck her. "Let me see... How about we cook some grilled dried mackerel, then miso soup?"

Kagami stared at her. "You can cook?"

"What's with that question? Of course I can cook!"

"Hmp. All the other girls I've known are all horrible cooks... Oww!"

Kimiko had yanked his earlobe down. "Why the hell are you comparing me to them?!"

"Sheesh... Fine, fine, you can cook, I get it! Now let go of my ear!"

From his seat, Himuro watched as the two bickered in the kitchen as they prepared dinner. He was thinking of taking her out to some restaurant or something, but today's events seemed much better and more enjoyable. Kimiko clearly enjoyed being with them as well, and Himuro guessed that it was a good thing.

Just then, Alex emerged from her room after cleaning her face, and saw him watching the two.

"She's an interesting person, Tatsuya," she said. "Where did you meet her?"

Himuro turned to face her, and smiled at the memory of his first meeting with the chartreusette. Alex laughed as he told her the story, including parts of Kimiko's past as part of the famed _Kiseki_ _no_ _Sedai_ in Teikou.

"So she plays basketball as well, eh?" Alex looked at Kimiko thoughtfully. It was hard to believe though, with a face like that, who would think that a girl like her would be engaged in such a sport?

"You should play with her sometime," Himuro said. "I did once, and I tell you, she's good."

"Maybe I will."

"Taiga, go grate some _daikon_ to go with the mackerel, and slice some cucumbers as well. And check the rice, will you?"

"Why am I the one getting ordered around in my own kitchen?!"

Kimiko didn't look at Kagami as she busied herself with cooking the miso soup. "What was that, Taiga?"

"N-nothing!" _Geez, this girl is indeed like that scissors guy.._.

"Good. I thought I heard something."

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"That was good," Alex said after they had finished their dinner. Alex and Himuro were in charge of the dishes, and the raven-head was already gathering the plates and bringing them to the sink. At her comment, Kimiko shot Kagami a triumphant look that says, _I told you._

"Akumi-chan, are you going to watch the Nationals?" Alex asked her while drying the dishes.

"Of course," she replied, thumbing through one of Kagami's basketball magazines. "How about you, Alex?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," she said. "Tatsuya and Taiga would be playing for their prefectures, after all."

After resting for a while, Kimiko had to go. Himuro, of course, would be the one to accompany her. Standing in the door of Kagami's apartment, she bid goodbye to Alex with a hug.

"See you around! And thanks for having me over, Taiga!"

"Ja, we'll be going then."

Himuro hailed a cab to Kimiko's house. It was within walking distance from Kagami's house, but it was late in the evening and they had just dinner so he decided against going by foot.

"That was fun," she said with a smile as they arrived at her house. Himuro agreed — he really enjoyed today. As he walked her to the front door, he suddenly remembered his conversation with his teammate. However, he hesitated in bringing it up because it might ruin Kimiko's mood.

"Thanks for today, Tatsuya," Kimiko said, pausing at the door that was already opened halfway.

"I'm glad that you enjoyed it, even though my plans got thrown out the window the moment Alex and Taiga appeared," Himuro said with a smile.

"They say that unplanned moments are the best ones, don't you think so?"

Himuro gave it some thought, then nodded at her in agreement. "Maybe so."

She smiled then. "I'm going in... Thanks for sending me home."

"Aa." He shoved his hands into his pants' pocket. For some reason, his heart sped up when she smiled at him. "Good night, Akumi."

"Good night to you, too. And take care on the way back.!"

One last wave, and Himuro turned to go. Inside, Kimiko watched him walked away through her second-floor window.

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	14. 第14章

**Author's Note:** More photo shoot details - and since I was addicted to Selena Gomez's "Wolves," I can't help putting in that pool scene (and because wet look is always sexy - Hahahahaha :D)

Another thing to note is that of the photo shoot Kimiko had with the release of the magazine, there should have been immediate reaction from other people, and according to **The Emperor's Empress,** the photo shoot was supposed to be something major for the story itself, but had forgotten to incorporate those stuff in the story. So in later chapters, there will be several new scenes and perhaps some new OC's for that purpose. That's all for now. Thanks!

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **14** **章**

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— **日** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **24** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

A beautiful chartreusette was sitting on a couch, her back against the armrest. She was wearing a flowing white sleeveless gown, her hair falling in soft waves down her shoulders. Her left leg was bent in front of her, left arm resting atop her knee. Her other leg hung down her seat, toes grazing the floor below. Her right arm was hugging her left leg, and from her other hand dangled a red rose. Her face was angled downwards to where a handsome blond sat on the floor, who was looking up at her as he smelled the rose hanging in front of him. There was a sensual smile on his face, an innocent one on hers.

"Okay, hold that pose!" Someone called out, and cameras began flashing around them. After what seemed like an eternity, the cameramen flashed a thumbs up at them. "Perfect! That's the last one for this location — great job, you two!"

As the two models stood up and walked off, Kimiko elbowed Kise lightly on the side.

"Why did I do this again?" she muttered with a sigh. They were in the Vermilion Hotel, a hotel chain owned and managed by the Akashi Corporation, with several branches all over the country. The shoot has a dual purpose: advertise the _Shijin_ fashion line (whose clothes they'll be wearing in the pictures) as well as to promote the Vermilion Hotel chain (not that they needed it - they're already popular and highly regarded), and it just happened that Kise was the one chosen for the job. Kimiko wondered if the model who was supposed to partner up with Kise knew what she was missing - _Shijin_ is a famous brand and the Vermilion is no joke, either. Both names would have been a good addition to any model's portfolio, and it was being wasted on someone like her.

"Because Izumi-san is not here and we need a replacement but no one is available and you were here and since Akumicchi is very pretty, they chose you instead!" Kise chirped happily.

The girl can only sigh in resignation.

As she was ushered into the hotel room turned dressing room by one of the makeup artists for the last costume change, she recalled the day's events.

 _Kise had shown up on her doorstep at exactly seven in the morning, and together, they rode a cab to Kise's workplace — Iris Studios — in central Tokyo. It was a huge building, and Kise toured her all over the place, showing her the various rooms and introducing to his co-workers and seniors. When it was time for Kise's photo shoot, she accompanied him to the studio, waiting to see the other side of Kise. Kise was supposed to be doing a pictorial for Valentines next month (his manager had to do the shoot early as Kise would be very busy with the upcoming Nationals) and there was supposed to be a female model to do it with him. Problem is, she was not there. Something about having an emergency or something. There was a commotion when none of their other female models suited for the role was available, and the manager was already planning to have the shoot postponed, until the photographer noticed Kimiko, who was talking to Kise that time._

 _"She'll do," he had said to Kise's manager, surprising everyone in the room when he pointed at the shocked chartreusette._

 _"E-eh? Naoto-san, sh-she's not a model..." Kise said._

 _The photographer, Naoto, shook his head. "With a face and body like that, no one will be able to tell the difference." Then to Kimiko, he said, "What do you say, young lady?"_

In the end, it was her fault for agreeing to be the replacement model. She could have just said no and walked away, but her curiosity on how it feels like to be a model got the better of her. She did not care about the fact that she will get paid for it and that she will be able to take home one of any dress or accessories that she'll be using in the shoot as a form of a souvenir; nope, those things don't matter to her.

It's the experience that counts.

 _It was just another of Kise's routine article in_ Japan Fashion Weekly, _but this one was extra special because it will be included in the magazine's Valentine issue and will be published on the ninth of February, the Monday that was also the first day of the Nationals where Kise will be participating with his team. The magazine was going to do an article about the blond, so aside from their couple shots, Kise will have some solo shots as well. Naoto had suggested for Kise to do his solo shots first so Kimiko can see how it is done._

 _The room where Kise's solos where taken was an elaborate Victorian-era drawing room. Kise finished his solo shots quickly, and Kimiko was impressed with his professionalism. Soon, it was her turn to join him. Their first one was quite easy. Naoto instructed them to stand by the window, where the heavily embroidered curtains provided a nice background for them._

 _Kise stood behind her, his arms wrapped in a loose circle around her waist. His blond hair was tousled nicely, and he wore a white, open-collared shirt and gray flannel pants. Kimiko wore an deep emerald sweater with a loose neckline that shows off her slender collarbones, while her hair was gathered in a loose side-ponytail and thrown over her left shoulder, their ends twisting in loose curls. She wore light make-up, though her mascara and eyeliner was a bit heavy due to Naoto telling the make-up artists to always emphasize her eyes._

 _They were talking while Naoto kept taking shots of them. Currently, Kise was whispering in her ear while she leaned her head to rest on his shoulder._

" _Akumicchi, you're doing pretty good for a beginner," he said, smiling softly, ignoring the sound of the shutter around them._

 _Kimiko's lips curved in a haughty smirk. "I am?" As directed, she lifted her hand to caress Kise's cheek as she angled her head to look at him, her eyes on his lips that was only inches away from hers. She ignored the deep breath he took before he adjusted his expression to match her own._

" _...Just following instructions, Ryou-kun," she said when she turned around to fully face him now. Their position now reminded her of a certain red-head. Kise was holding to her waist while she had her arms around his neck, their foreheads pressed together. Both of them had pretty long lashes, and it showed clearly on the finished photos._

 _Naoto was all praises after their first shot. He had gotten a lot of excellent pictures from that one concept alone. He's sure that they'll be having a hard time choosing what to put on the magazine while the rest will be posted on the magazine's online gallery. As the two models went off to change for their next picture, the photographer cannot help but stare at the picture of the chartreusette. It was one where she had her head turned to the camera, her golden eyes seeming to be staring straight past the lens and into his own._

What an intense gaze, _he thought._

 _The next set of pictures was taken in the corner of the room where a grand piano was standing. Kise had changed into a formal black suit, though the tie was loosened and the sleeves rolled up casually, while Kimiko was wearing an elaborate dress made of lace and tulle. Her long hair was gathered in a half updo, pinned by an elaborate barrette of black pearls set in silver. From her neck hangs a matching necklace,the black of the pearls contrasting nicely with her porcelain skin. Silver bangles adorn her dainty wrists._

 _When Naoto said that she had to sit on top of the piano, she had looked surprised at first but she did as she was told. Kise helped her up, and arranged her skirt for her before taking his seat on the piano bench. She played with a conductor's baton that was given to her and arched an eyebrow at the blond that was playing with random keys._

" _So how are we supposed to do this?" she asked. She was sitting with her knees bent sideways under her, her right hand supporting her while her left twirled the baton carelessly in the air. Kise looked up at her and grinned._

" _Just continue what you were doing earlier, Akumicchi," he said, fingers dancing aimlessly over the ebony and ivory keys._

" _Hm," and her eyes turned soft as she reached out to brush the lock of hair that had fallen into his eyes. "I'm running out of ideas. And my position is hardly comfortable."_

 _Kise caught her hand in his as she was about to withdraw it. "Then let me lead this one then," he said, then pressed a kiss to the back of her hand while he held her gaze._

 _Kimiko blinked at the intimate gesture from the usually childish blond and smirked. Leaning forward, she used the baton to tip his face upwards to her. "Ryou-kun, is this revenge for earlier...?" she crooned, making the blond blush adorably. She cannot help but laugh at the deer-in-the-headlights expression on his face._

 _Naoto immediately focused his camera to capture that moment of bliss between the two teen models._

 _The third one, they relocated on the rug in front of the fireplace. The two of them were kneeling in front of each other. Kise had shed the coat and was now wearing a light blue satin shirt over dark blue pants. He was barefoot, as was Kimiko, who was wearing a mauve flowing dress made of a very light material. A fan was placed behind Kise so that the wind made her hair and the loose strips of the dress to billow behind her gracefully. For this one, she was wearing smoky make-up, and coupled with the yellow light from the fire, Kimiko looked like a visiting fairy to the lost-looking Kise. The two pulled off the expressions that Naoto told them to portray easily - Kimiko almost crying as she reached out for Kise. After that, Naoto had her sit down so Kise can lay his head in her lap. Kise was smiling softly as Kimiko played with his hair, threading her fingers through his blond locks while Kise was twirling a strand of her long chartreuse hair in his fingers._

 _The pair looked so content as they talked quietly that Naoto almost regretted telling them to prepare for the next picture._

Kise's manager approached her when she was done changing for the last shot. He observed her for a moment, and nodded to himself.

"Kimiko Akumi, isn't it?"

" _Hai_ ," she answered.

"I can see that you have a great potential in modeling. You have the face, the figure, and the charm, and you are a fast learner. I know that you're being dragged into this all of a sudden but even so, you're doing incredibly well for an amateur."

Kimiko was not sure what to say. "Uhm, thanks?"

Kise's manager laughed lightly before handing her a card. She turned it over in her fingers. "I'm not forcing you but it would be a waste to let a rare one like you to get away. However, the decision is up to you, and I will respect whatever it might be, but in case you want to be a model part-time or full-time, just give me a call."

"Oh, Akumicchi!" Kise called from behind her and she turned to face him. "Come on, we're going to the pool!"

Kimiko blinked. "What? Pool?"

Kise nodded.

Looking down at the exquisite red gown that she was wearing, Kimiko frowned. "You expect me to go for a swim wearing this?"

"Don't worry, Akumiccchi! The gown won't get ruined!"

 _That's not what I'm worried about,_ baka, Kimiko thought then followed the blond to the next venue. She gingerly touched her curled hair and wondered if the hairspray will hold out even when her hair gets soaked.

To her horror and to Kise's amusement, when they got to the pool side, they saw that there was a huge transparent inflatable pool filled with several inches of water and decorated with rose petals.

Standing next to the two clueless teens, Naoto pointed at the pool and said, "Kimiko, I want you to lay down there."

" _Nani?!_ "

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"I'm worn out..."

Their photo shoot lasted for almost seven hours, and Kimiko was starving. After getting back to the studio, she dragged Kise immediately to the nearest food source. It was a fast food joint, and though Kimiko tends to be picky with her food, she decided to go with it due to her grumbling stomach.

"But it was fun, ne, Akumicchi?" Kise asked her, twirling his spaghetti round his fork.

"Hm, yeah... It was fun until the last part, though," she wrinkled her nose in annoyance. The water was freezing, for _kami's_ sake!

At least they were kind enough to blow dry her hair before they sent her home with Kise.

Kise laughed. "Naoto-san was very pleased with your performance. He's usually strict and tend to complain a lot about the female models but he was quiet for once..."

"Eh? He's the one who insisted on using an inexperienced female as a model. He had no right to complain," Kimiko retorted, jabbing a fry in Kise's direction to prove her point.

They ate in companionable silence until Kise began awkwardly, "Ano, Akumicchi, about earlier..." he blushed at the reminder of the incident that had happened during their shoot at the pool. "I didn't mean to... You know..."

Kimiko's cheeks colored a little as she stirred her coffee needlessly. "You're just doing your job. Don't worry about it." Even she had been surprised when she felt his lips against her skin. Lately, Kise had been acting oddly around her, and Kimiko doesn't know what to make of it, choosing to chalk it up to her year-long disappearance.

In one of Naoto's required poses, Kise had to pin one of Kimiko's hand above her head while he leaned over her as she lay there on the petal-covered water. He was so caught up in the moment that he didn't notice that he was already kissing her forehead until Kimiko whispered his name.

"Yeah, right," he agreed with her rather weakly, and neither said a word to the other until they finished eating. They parted ways as they have other errands to attend to. Kise has something to do with Kasamatsu, while Kimiko has grocery shopping.

"See you around, Akumicchi!" Kise waved at her when she had crossed the street, regaining some of his usual cheer now that she was not beside him.

"Aa. Thanks for today!" Kise nodded before heading to the other direction. Kimiko, too, proceeded on her way, planning to stop by the grocery to restock on her food supply.

When she arrived home, it was already past five in the afternoon. Since it was Sunday, the housekeeper that her father had hired for her (despite her protests) had been there earlier, cleaning the house and doing the laundry for her. Not that the house really needs serious cleaning, though.

A package on the living room table caught her attention. It's a plastic bag full of she doesn't know what. After putting away her groceries, she decided to check it out. A note written by her housekeeper lay atop the bag.

 _ **Akumi-chan,**_

 _ **One of your friends arrived this morning. He looks like he needs to see you for an important matter. However, I told him that you had gone out with another friend of yours, and that you'll be back late. He waited until half past two o'clock, and decided to come back some other day. He told me to give you this. He said his name was Murasakibara Atsushi.**_

Inside the bag were several boxes of chocolate almonds that Kimiko was very fond of back in Teikou. It's the kind of chocolate that everyone in the basketball team would give her during Valentines.

And one that a certain purple-haired boy would always give to her everyday before practice.

Kimiko picked up one of the chocolates. Recalling how her relationship with him after that incident, she wasn't sure how to react to this sign of a peace offering from him. She returned the box to the plastic bag and sat on the couch.

"...Atsushi."

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— **火** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **26** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Akita, Japan ****

 **秋田** **、** **日本**

Himuro and Murasakibara finished changing to fresh clothes after practice that Tuesday afternoon. The two were exhausted — training was hard what with the Nationals only a week away. January was about to end, February only a couple days away, which leaves them a few more days to polish up their skills and strategies. Only the basketball team had stayed in the campus that late. Murasakibara went out of the gym first, opting to wait for Himuro outside once he finished talking with the coach.

Alone, Murasakibara was reminded of his latest trip to Tokyo — the only time he went there not to buy snacks or because Akashi told him to. It's because after a day of thinking it all over in his room the whole Saturday, he had somewhat found the resolve to go and talk to the chartreusette after almost two years — after their third Nationals, nothing seemed right with Teikou's basketball club. Yes, they were strong, but it took their away the bonds that the team shared on and off the court.

 _Kumi-chin had probably eaten all the chocolates by now,_ he mused, stuffing a Pocky stick in his mouth. Kimiko have an obsession with that kind of sweets and it was what connected them in the first place. Looking at things in retrospect, Murasakibara felt annoyed at himself for not treating the golden-eyed girl better.

Hearing footsteps behind him, he adjusted the strap of his gym bag on his shoulder. "Let's go, Muro-chin," he said without turning.

"Tatsuya won't be walking you home, Atsushi." A voice that's not Himuro's spoke behind him. Murasakibara almost dropped his box of Pocky. Slowly, almost fearfully, he looked behind him and there stood the very person he had been thinking about moments earlier.

"Kumi-chin..."

The girl gave him a small smile. " _Ikou_."

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"Himuro, why are you still here? Where's Murasakibara?" Yosen's coach asked the ravenhead who was standing by the gym door at something or someone in the distance.

"Atsushi has some personal matters to attend to," Himuro replied. He read again the message he received earlier.

 _ **[From: Kimiko Akumi]**_

 _ **06:12PM: I'll be taking Atsushi from you for the meantime.**_

As he walked home alone, Himuro hoped that everything will be alright again for the two of them.

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"Atsushi." Kimiko put her elbows on the table, and folded her hands over each other. She placed her chin on them, and gazed at Murasakibara. "I'm guessing you have something to tell me."

Murasakibara squirmed at the petite girl's gaze. "Kumi-chin..."

"You went to my apartment last Sunday right?"

He broke off a piece of the blandly sweet apple pie with his hands. The filling oozed out onto the plate. "Hai~ But Kumi-chin was not there..."

"I was out. With someone. So why were you looking for me?"

Murasakibara finished licking the pie crust from his fingers, and closed his mouth firmly. He doesn't know how to start with his apology. Well, Kimiko doesn't look angry with him now, as he watched her across the table. She took a piece of _uiro_ in her mouth as she waited for him to continue.

Murasakibara remembered how he dismissed Kimiko that day.

 _"I won't listen to you, too, Kumi-chin. I don't need to do your training menus — I can still win without your help~"_

Maybe if he didn't involve her then, maybe Akashi wouldn't be as vindictive, and would have backed off when Kimiko told him to. By an unspoken rule, the team listens and takes every word that Kimiko says on the court seriously, no matter how trivial it may seem at the moment. Little pieces of advice about their form and performance, harsh comments about their attitude and behavior, and most especially, those rare words of praise that they valued mainly for its rarity. Everyone holds her in high respect not because she demands it, but because she deserves it.

But he had broken that rule. And everything began to spiral downward into destruction.

"Look at you, so serious." Kimiko laughed. "Why are you —"

"I'm sorry, Kumi-chin~!" Murasakibara suddenly stood up and bowed his head in apology. He can't think of any better way to say it. He's not like Akashi after all, who was very eloquent in explaining things. He knows that a simple sorry cannot undo everything, but Kimiko will know, right?

"...Atsushi..." Kimiko looked at the tall boy bowing before her, the sight attracting more than a few stares from the other customers in the cafe that they were in. "Oi, Atsushi, what are you apologizing for?"

Murasakibara raised his head slightly as he answered her question. "For saying mean words to you back then, for not giving you chocolates before every practice - for everything~" He then resumed his bowing position.

Murasakibara didn't have the confidence nor the words that he could explain it to Kimiko well enough. He had no other option but to remain silent and wait for the girl's reply.

After what seemed like an eternity, he heard her stood up from her seat. He panicked. _Kumi-chin is leaving?!_

"Atsushi."

"Hai, Kumi-chin~?" he said in a small voice.

Kimiko sighed, then sat back down. "Sit down." He complied, head still bowed. Another sigh. "Look at me."

When Murasakibara did look at her, her eyes widened. "O-oi, Atsushi! Don't cry, you idiot!" Murasakibara's eyes were slightly wet at the edges. She can't help thinking just how childish he could be at times.

"But Kumi-chin —," he sobbed, but stopped when Kimiko smiled at him like a fond mother at her child.

It was that smile she used to give him whenever she hears Akashi lecturing him about his excessive snacking.

 _"Listen to Seijuurou, Atsushi," she would say, and that would end the two boys' bickering._

 _"If Kumi-chin says so~" and she would give him that smile._

It had been a long time since he saw that smile. And Murasakibara knows that he was forgiven.

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"Shall we go then, Atsushi?" Kimiko stood up. After some bit of talking and catching up with each other's lives, they decided to go as it was already getting late and Kimiko still has to return to Tokyo.

"I'll walk you to the station, Kumi-chin~," Murasakibara offered.

"You don't have to, Atsushi."

"But I want to~" he whined. Kimiko chuckled.

"Fine."

They walked side-by-side down the road to the station. The act brought a nostalgic feeling to the both of them.

"Kumi-chin, you're not going to leave again, right~?"

Kimiko raised her face, and grinned. "Of course not."

"Hmmm... Because I want to be friends with Kumi-chin again~" he said, nodding thoughtfully. He munched on his potato chips.

"But we're already friends."

Murasakibara looked at her in childish innocence, eyes sparkling. "Even if I was mean to you back then?"

"Yeah. That's in the past anymore. So just let it go, okay? I told you earlier, didn't I?"

"If Kumi-chin says so... Still, I'm sorry~"

"I know. And I've already forgiven you. You should forgive yourself too."

"Hai~"

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"Hey miss."

Kimiko stopped. Murasakibara was only a few meters away from her, in the process of throwing the empty wrappers of his snacks in a nearby garbage can. Just as she was about to call his name, she was suddenly grabbed by the shoulder from behind.

"Excuse me." Kimiko turned around. A man was standing there, smiling. He was about a head taller than her, and was wearing a high school uniform. She calmly brushed the man's hand off her shoulder and spoke.

"Can I help you?"

"Ah, well... I just want to ask —"

"Kumi-chin, who is he?" Murasakibara had suddenly appeared beside her and was now looking down at the stranger that had approached the chartreusette. After several similar incidents back in Teiko, he and the rest of the _Kiseki_ _no_ _Sedai_ had grown protective around her and would treat any male stranger who approaches their coach with a degree of suspicion.

The man's face showed fear. "Y-you're with him?" he asked Kimiko.

"Yes, she is. Do you have a problem with that?" Murasakibara answered instead, pulling Kimiko closer to him. "Who are you and what do you need from Kumi-chin?"

"N-nothing!"

"Then go away~" Murasakibara said in a childish tone, but the threat was clearly there.

"Atsushi," Kimiko whispered sharply. The man paled, then nodded, trembling, and Kimiko tugged on Murasakibara's arm to lead him away.

"That's unnecessary, Atsushi," she chided as they continued walking.

The purple-haired boy paused, and let out a long breath. "I'm sorry, Kumi-chin~ It's just —"

Kimiko sighed as well. "I see. Still overprotective, aren't you?"

They entered the station.

"I'm fine from here." Kimiko stopped.

Murasakibara seemed hesitant, but he nodded after a while. "Take care, Kumi-chin.. Will I see you again?"

"Hmm... Of course. Be careful on the way home, Atsushi! And thanks for the chocolates! Be sure to have some when we meet again, okay?"

"Hai, Kumi-chin~ Bye-bye~"

With a casual wave of her hand in farewell, Kimiko turned around to go. Turning their backs to one another, they parted ways once more, but this time, there is a promise of meeting each other again as good friends once more.

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"Atsushi!" Murasakibara's mother greeted him at the door. "You're late. How was practice?"

"It was okay~"

"You must be tired. Go on, rest for a while in your room. Dinner will be served soon."

"Hai~" Murasakibara nodded, and began to leave the living room. He began to ascend the stairs up to his room on the second floor of their house.

"Atsushi," his mother called. He turned around. "Did something happen?"

"...Eh~?"

"Did something happen?" His mother continued without waiting for Murasakibara's answer. "When you came home, you were smiling too much. Did something good happen?"

"I met Kumi-chin again~" His mother smiled, knowing who that 'Kumi-chin' is, and let her son to go to his room. By the way he was acting, it seems that 'Kumi-chin' had already forgiven him. All is well.

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Later that night, Murasakibara collapsed into bed. He still can't stop thinking about Kimiko. For all they knew, they thought that they won't see her again. But today, he —

A chime interrupted his thoughts. His mobile phone was ringing. He sat up and picked it up from where it lay on his bedside table.

"Muro-chin~"

 **"So how did it go?"** Himuro asked from the other end of the line.

"I apologized to Kumi-chin and she accepted it~ She says we're friends again~" Murasakibara said happily. He could hear his partner laughing.

 **"I'm happy to hear that. I told you she'll forgive you, right?"**

"Hmmm... Kumi-chin is a really nice person, ne, Muro-chin?"

 **"Aa. Indeed. Anyway, I only called to check up on you two. Good night, Atsushi. You better sleep as well, practice will be harder tomorrow and you'll need your rest."**

"Hai, Muro-chin~ Night night~"

They ended the call, and Murasakibara laid back down on his bed, snuggling in his pillows with a smile on his face.

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 _ **Kimiko and Murasakibara's interactions are so adorable in this one! I want to write something with these two during the Nationals arc - they're just too cute together to pass up!**_


	15. 第15章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **15** **章**

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 _"Akumi, come here," Akashi said to the sulking girl at the corner._

 _"I give up! I'm not made for dancing! Go find another partner!" she said, crossing her arms in front of her, pouting in annoyance._

 _Akashi sighed. It was PE class and they just happened to have dance lessons for the next three months, and as the girl had said, she was not that good at it._

 _But Akashi would have none of it. He approached her and tugged at her arm, trying to pull her up from her seat on the gym floor._

 _"Akumi, let's try again," he coaxed, but the girl was adamant about her decision._

 _"No!" she said, pulling her arm back._

 _"Yes," Akashi said, pulling it up._

 _"No." Down._

 _"Yes." Up._

 _"No." Down._

 _"Yes." Up._

 _After a brief game of tug-of-war with Kimiko's arm, their teacher finally decided to intervene._

 _"Okay, so what's up with you two?" he asked, staring at the two freshmen._

 _"Sensei, tell Seijuurou to leave me alone!"_

 _"Sensei, tell Akumi to stand up and try the dance one more time."_

 _The two spoke at the same time, and realizing that, they glared at one another. Sweatdropping, their teacher pointed to the center of the gym and said, "You two, get back there."_

 _Kimiko sighed but followed the teacher's order. She tried dancing waltz countless times but she just couldn't get it. She'd rather dance hip-hop._

 _"Closer."_

 _Akashi pulled Kimiko closer, so close they could feel each other's breath. She glared at him, and he smirked, even though his feet was hurting from being stepped on several times already._

 _"Now," Akashi continued. He took one of her hands in his. "Put the other one on my shoulder."_

 _She complied, albeit hesitatingly._

 _"Good." Akashi already had his hands on Kimiko's waist. "Okay, so from the top." He smiled, looking at Kimiko's golden eyes. She looked away, avoiding his gaze. As the music started to play, Akashi added, "Oh, one more thing, Akumi."_

 _"What?" she mumbled, looking to the side._

 _Akashi let go of her hand for a moment and held her chin, turning her face to him and tipping it upwards so that their eyes meet. He smirked at her slightly shocked expression. "You have to look into my eyes."_

 _"Why would I do that?!" she growled defiantly, only for Akashi to lean forward and whisper in her ear._

 _"Aren't you listening earlier? Waltz is supposed to be a love dance, and you can't dance with the one you love without looking them in the eye, can you?"_

 _Kimiko jerked backwards, her face slightly red, her composure gone. "What are you even saying?!"_

 _"Hm? Sensei mentioned it in the introduction a while ago." He chuckled lightly when she huffed at his teasing tone._

 _"I told you I can't dance waltz... Tsk..."_

 _He smiled, then corrected their positions once again, and gave her a reassuring smile. "Just let me guide you, Akumi. It can't be that hard — just a little practice and you can do it."_

 _They started dancing, and Akashi was surprised by how Kimiko was so elegant and graceful in his arms. Near the song's end, as he guided her into a twirl, he smiled at her proudly._

 _"See, I told you —"_

 _A pain on his left foot cut him off, stopping their dance as Kimiko pulled away from him with a hurt look on her face._

 _"I told you I'm hopeless..." she began to turn away, her tone expressing her guilt at stepping on his feet again and her disappointment at committing a mistake right when she thought that she was going to make it. Akashi grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him._

 _"It's okay," he said, comforting the chartreusette who was unusually looking so depressed. "You almost made it."_

 _His words made Kimiko blink up at him as he patted her head._

 _"You just need more practice," he said, leading her towards their other classmates who were gathered around their teacher for some announcements before dismissal. "If you want, we can practice at your home over the weekend. I'll make sure you'll get it perfectly."_

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— **木** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **28** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Kyoto, Japan ****

 **京都** **、** **日本**

Akashi removed his earphones and placed them on his desk. Lately, his thoughts had been going to the chartreusette more often than he wanted it to. It's just... He can't seem to stop himself from reminiscing every time he sees, hears, smells, tastes, or feels something that is connected in some way with Teikou's former first string coach. Having a perfect memory has it's drawbacks, too.

He sighed. Another thing that he has been doing more often as of late. After Winter Cup, things were slowly going back to normal. Well, not exactly as it had been the way it was before — that's impossible as they'd been through a lot — but they were slowly but surely repairing their friendship, their bonds, and although they were now rivals on the court and playing on separate teams, outside of it they were all good friends. He was pleased with the interactions of the _Kiseki_ _no_ _Sedai_ during the New Year celebration — that time when they all agreed to gather together. It was like a trip back in time — back to their Teiko years, before the Awakening — and Akashi had to admit, it was pretty nostalgic. Kise was his usual loud self, fawning over the phantom and arguing with Aomine loudly, while Midorima would try to shut them up, while dropping _Oha_ - _Asa_ 's horoscopes once in a while. Murasakibara just watched them as he munched on his snacks, while Momoi would try to remove Kise from Kuroko while joining the copycat on teasing the tanned ace of Toō. Akashi can only shake his head at their actions before telling them to behave or else. They would listen, only to do the same thing over again after a while.

 _Now, if only she was there_ , Akashi thought, gazing out the window of Rakuzan's student council office.

A shrill ringing sound prevented him from dwelling on it any further. It was his phone. Taking it out, he frowned when he saw the caller ID.

 _I'll give that idiot a scolding when I get to visit Tokyo_ , he thought, already knowing the reason behind the call. He swiped the 'Receive' icon and put the phone to his ear.

"Hello, Momoi."

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 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

"Mai-chan, Mai-chan, Mai-chan..." Aomine Daiki mumbled to himself as he walked to the bookstore where he always buy his treasured Horikita Mai photo book. Dressed in his Touou school uniform, he looks really out of place wandering in the streets at nine o'clock in the morning.

His phone buzzed in his pocket once again. "Stubborn woman," he grumbled as he ignored it, knowing full well that it's no other than his childhood friend that's calling him just to tell him to _haul_ _his_ _lazy_ _ass_ _back_ _to_ _school_.

 _Who cares about school anyway? Horikita Mai has a new magazine and that's the most important thing in the world — next to basketball, that is._

The bookstore was only a few meters away, and Aomine quickened his steps. It better be not sold out yet, or else...

 _Mai-chan, wait for me, I'm coming for_ —

His phone kept on vibrating. Annoyed, he took it out and answered it with an irritated voice.

"Damn it, Satsuki! I said I'll come later this afternoon, okay? I just have to buy something and —"

" _ **Aomine**_."

The tanned boy almost dropped his phone. Slowly, he removed his phone from his ear and looked at the caller ID.

 **In-call. Akashi (** **赤い悪魔** **).***

*赤い悪魔= _Akai_ _akuma_. Translates to red devil.

He gulped and hesitantly put it back to his ear.

"A-Akashi...?"

" _ **Momoi had told me that you've been skipping classes again because of THAT magazine. Again, Aomine. Is it true?**_ "

"Well, you see —"

" _ **I expect you to be back in Touou in time for your third period. I'll be waiting for Momoi's confirmation on this.**_ "

Aomine started running for the bookstore. Akashi was still on the phone. _Damn_ , he thought. Oh well, if he rushed now, he can buy his precious magazine and sprint back to Touou with time to spare.

" _ **Did you hear me, Aomine?**_ ", came Akashi's voice from the other end of the line.

"Yes, yes, I hear you, Ak— _ack_!" Aomine spluttered as someone grabbed his collar from behind. He turned around angrily, the phone call forgotten.

And came face-to-face with a person from the past.

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 **** Kyoto, Japan ****

 **京都** **、** **日本**

"Aomine, what's happening?" Akashi said into his phone at the sudden interruption in Aomine's reply. "Aomine?"

Just as he was getting worried, the other boy's voice came through. " _ **What the hell is your problem—A-akumi?!**_ "

Ruby eyes widened in shock. Did he heard correctly...?

In confirmation to his uncertainty, another voice entered the conversation.

" _ **Long time no see, Daiki.**_ "

It was a voice he knew so well.

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 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

A smile graced the chartreusette's lips, her arms crossed in front of her. "Fancy meeting you here at exactly—" she glanced at her wristwatch, "9:13 on a Thursday morning. How unusual, isn't it?" Her smile turned into an evil smirk.

Aomine paled. _Oh shit. First Akashi, and now his terror ex-coach._ "I-I can explain..."

"Explain _what_ exactly, Daiki?" She took a step forward, and Aomine, out of instinct, took a step backward. "Clearly, you're skipping classes again. I don't think that warrants an explanation since I already knew the reason. It's _that_ magazine again, right?" She raised a hand, cutting off Aomine who was about to protest. "I don't want to hear your answer."

"B-but —!"

"Go to school, Daiki. You're not going to be young forever. You can't expect Satsuki to be always there to keep you in line every time you decide to slack off. Soon, you'll go to university, graduate, find a job, get a wife, have kids — Pay attention to what I'm saying, _Aho_!"

Aomine was looking at her in a strange way while she was lecturing him. With his free hand, the tanned teen poked her forehead, then her nose, then his hand lowered to poke her in the chest when Kimiko grabbed his hand and twisted it in a painful _kotegaeshi_ lock.

"Don't even think about doing that, you pervert!" she screamed.

Aomine winced at the pain, but he did not take his eyes off her. "You're real. You're really here. Like —"

" _Aho_! What do you think I am? A ghost?!" Kimiko shrieked, putting more pressure on the lock.

The pain snapped him out of his daze. "Oww, owww! Oi, Akumi, you're going to break my wrist! Owww!"

"Maybe I should."

"NOOO!" Whereupon she released his hand, and crossed her arms in front of her with a smug look as he shook his hand to ease the pain somewhat. "That hurts, you know!"

"My intention, exactly."

"The first time we meet after a year and this is the welcome greeting I get..." Aomine grumbled, shoving his hands, along with his phone, in his pockets.

Kimiko stared at him in disbelief.

"What do you expect?" she asked in an incredulous voice. "Confettis? Trumpets? Roses? An entourage? Maybe a kiss and a hug and and an 'I miss you so much, Daiki!', perhaps?" The last part was said in a high-pitched voice. Her expression turned blank. "Go die," she said darkly.

Aomine shuddered. "You really are Akumi." Aomine yelped when he got a kick in the shin in response. " _Itai_!"

"Who the hell could I be aside from Akumi?! You idiot! And enough with the 'really' thing! You're just like Ryou-kun," she said, using her nickname for Kise during their photo shoot together.

Aomine stopped rubbing his shin and straightened up. _Ryou-kun?_ "You mean, Kise?"

Her look told him, _Duh. Obviously._

"So you've met with the others?!" he exclaimed.

"Yup. So far I've met Tetsuya, Shintarou, Ryouta, and Atsushi," she enumerated on her fingers in chronological order.

One detail caught Aomine's attention, though. "Ryou-kun?"

"Ryou-kun, like Kise Ryouta, the blond copycat, the earring guy, the one who used to hound you with endless questions back in Teikou. That guy. Is there any other Ryouta you know?"

Aomine paused to think. "Well, there's a guy in my present team named Ryo..."

He earned a smack on the head for that. "And why would you think I'll refer to that guy on your team? I don't know that person!"

"That's the fourth one, Akumi! I'll end up covered in bruises!" he complained.

"Blame it on your stupidity!" she shot back.

"Geez, and shorty told me to get back by third period..." And that's when he remembered. "Shit, I forgot about him!" He fumbled for his phone and panicking, he flipped it open and saw that Akashi had ended the call for a while now.

"Hmm? You forgot about who?" Kimiko said, stepping up beside him and looking at him curiously.

"No-nothing!"

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Aomine ended up getting dragged back to Touou by the chartreusette, who did not allow him to buy his magazine when it was but a few steps away from where they were talking.

Momoi was standing at the gates of their school, looking for a sign of Aomine. It was the ten-minute break before their third period, and Akashi had told her about the deadline that he gave to the tanned ace.

"Stupid Dai-chan..." she mumbled. Even though he rarely skips practice nowadays, his habit of skipping more than half his classes still hasn't changed. It was a miracle how he even manages to pass all their exams — well, just barely, but still...

Maybe they weren't called the _Kiseki_ _no_ _Sedai_ solely for their basketball skills...

She was leaning on the inner side of the wall, facing the school buildings, so she didn't see Aomine approaching. Rather, she heard him muttering to himself. Momoi burst out from her cover to surprise him, but it was her who got surprised instead.

Because Aomine was not alone.

"AKU-CHAAAAAN!" she squealed before launching herself at the laughing chartreusette, who hugged her back.

"Satsuki!"

Aomine stared at the two females and cleared his ear with his pinky. Do they have to be so loud? "Tsk."

After a few words, Kimiko glanced at her watch. "Satsuki, you better get going. It's only three minutes before third period."

"But Aku-chan," Momoi said, still clinging to her arm. She really missed the chartreusette, after all, she had spent a lot of effort in trying to find Kimiko only for her to materialize right in front of her... So maybe Aomine skipping classes is a good thing that happened today because he brought Kimiko with him?

"We can skip classes, you know," Aomine stated as a matter-of-fact.

Kimiko gave him a sharp look. "No, I won't allow that. It would defeat the purpose of me dragging you back here." Then to Momoi, she said more gently, "Satsuki, go now with Daiki."

"But —"

"You have practice later, right?" Kimiko asked, not because she didn't know, and Momoi immediately got her message.

"See you later, Aku-chan!" she smiled, then grabbed Aomine's arm and dragged him with her to their classroom. Aomine sighed.

 _What's with women and me getting dragged by them?_

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Classes ended and Momoi was in a hurry to search for the chartreusette. Strangely enough, she found her talking to Imayoshi, their captain, and the raven-head's usual expression was gone, replaced by a troubled one. By the smug look on Kimiko's face, it looks like they had a debate and she had clearly won the argument. Momoi, though, did not bother knowing the topic. Whatever it is, knowing the two and their sadistic personalities, it's something that's sure to be a disturbing one.

"Ah, Momoi-san!" Imayoshi actually greeted her when he saw her approaching them, and was that relief in his voice? "Akumi here has been looking forward to watch our practice."

"Yes, I am," Kimiko said with a smirk. " _Saa_ , _ikimashou_?" And then to Imayoshi, "See you later, Shouichi- _senpai_."

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"Akumi, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be up there?" Aomine said, pointing to the second floor of the gym. Kimiko shook her head and smirked at Imayoshi's direction.

"Your captain was kind enough to allow me to watch you here," Kimiko said, getting comfortable on the bench outside the court.

"Aku-chan!" Momoi returned from talking to the coach and hugged the chartreusette tightly, causing her to choke a bit.

"Satsuki... Can't... breathe..."

Momoi laughed and disentangled herself from Kimiko. "Sorry," she said, making a peace sign. Kimiko smiled at her.

"Well, that was weird," Aomine muttered, thinking about Imayoshi's submissiveness. He looked at Kimiko once again, and noticed that she was holding something — a magazine, to be exact.

Aomine's narrow eyes widened.

"A-Akumi! Th-that's—!" he swiped it from her hands and held it in front of him, admiring the girl on the cover. "Mai-chan!" Aomine kissed the cover. "Akumi, thank y—"

"Shut up, Daiki." Kimiko had shoved the magazine in his face, cutting off his words, then pulled the magazine away from him. "And who said I'm giving this to you?"

"Nooooo! Akumi, you can't do this to me!" Aomine wailed uncharacteristically. "Besides, what are you gonna do with it, anyway?" His eyes glittered mischievously. "Don't tell me you—"

 _PAK!_

Momoi cannot help but giggle at her childhood friend's plight.

"That's the fifth one, Akumi!"

"Continue what you're about to say and I'll send you to your grave."

Aomine glared at the girl, rubbing his head where she had hit him with the rolled-up magazine.

"You pervert."

Waving the magazine in front of him, she said in a singsong voice, "What am I gonna do with this, you say? Nothing, except to make you jealous, perhaps? Just so you know, it's sold out already — it's a limited edition, by the way."

" _NANI_?!"

"Oi, Aomine, quiet down, will you, and who are you — Holy shit." Wakamatsu, who had just come in, dropped his bag on the floor as he stared at Kimiko who was holding a gravure magazine and seemed to be teasing Aomine with it while Momoi was laughing beside the chartreusette.

Somehow, the scene seems wrong to Wakamatsu.

"Oi, Aomine, who's that —"

Touou's ace turned to the gaping Wakamatsu. Suddenly, he had an idea. He smirked, then pulled Kimiko and put an arm around her waist. "Ah, this girl? She's my girlfrie — Oww!"

Aomine bent over in pain, clutching his stomach where Kimiko had elbowed him mercilessly. Freed from his grasp, she looked down at him, while Wakamatsu and the rest of the Touou team watched as their ace got beaten by a girl.

"I'm your what, Daiki?" Kimiko asked with a sinister tone.

"...Your...my coach...back...in Tei...kou..." Aomine managed to say, sitting on the floor now. "That's your sixth time, Akumi!"

"You know, Daiki, counting how many times I hit you isn't any use, you know?" Aomine sighed as she offered him a hand. A smirk began to creep up on his lips but Kimiko shot it down. "No funny business, Daiki. If you pull me down, I swear..."

"Tsk... I know, I know," he grumbled, pulling himself up. "Can't you take a joke?"

"Oh, but you know that I don't like those kind of jokes."

"Yeah, except when it was Ak—"

"Dai-chan!" Momoi interrupted Aomine, knowing what he was going to say next. Good thing that Kimiko didn't caught the last part of Aomine's sentence, or else...

At the blow of Imayoshi's whistle, Kimiko and Momoi shoved Aomine into the court, laughing together at Aomine's glare. The two girls settled on the bench, watching them do their training and talking once in a while.

"Ne, Aku-chan, can I visit you this Saturday?" Momoi asked. Kimiko was surprised at the request, but then they used to do that a lot back in middle school, even with the boys too, especially when it was before exam week or when they have projects to do. It was either hers or Akashi's place, which was the only place where they can fit all at once and at the same time not disturb anyone with their usual antics.

"Sure," she said, making Momoi smile at her.

"Yey! Thanks, Aku-chan!"

Kimiko smiled. An idea was forming in her head upon remembering what date it was. _Looks like I'll be hosting a party this Sunday._

Sadly, she failed to realize that that meant meeting everyone.

Including a certain red-haired boy.

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After two hours, Touou's practice ended, and everyone was supposed to help with the clean-up.

That is, except Aomine.

"Oi, Akumi, Satsuki, let's go," he said, calling the two girls who were still chatting with each other on the bench. He was already on his way out of the gym, bag slung on his shoulder, ready to leave at a moment's notice.

"Oi, Aomine, help out! Don't you dare leave yet!" Wakamatsu shouted at him, pausing for a moment in his mopping.

Aomine drawled out. "Nah, you can do it ourselves. I'm too —"

"Daiki, where do you think you're going?" Kimiko asked him, eyeing his figure then turning to the other members of the club.

He faltered, instantly recognizing the deadly implications whenever the chartreusette uses that tone. "Ah, I mean, yes, I'm going to help! I'm not going anywhere!"

"Good." Kimiko gave him a sickly sweet smile that made Aomine cringe and hurry to help his teammates. This surprised the club members — how can this girl hold such authority over their ace? Grabbing a mop, he started to clean the floors of the gym with such enthusiasm that Aomine pretty much cleaned the whole area by himself.

"Ugh, I'm sooo tired..." Aomine groaned as they finally went on their way home. Walking before him, Momoi was asking Kimiko on her observations on their practice. He half-listened to them, after all, he was not that interested with such things. As long as he can play basketball, that's enough.

 _Kimiko used to walk home with Akashi after we reach that intersection_ , Aomine suddenly recalled. _I wonder what will happen when they meet again? They were actually close back then — until Akashi strangled her, that is. Come to think of it,_ _ **that**_ _side of Akashi was overly possessive of Kimiko... To the point that it was scary sometimes._

"Hey, Daiki, you're spacing out... Did I hit your head that hard?" he heard Kimiko say.

Aomine blinked. "Huh?"

"Dai-chan, Aku-chan was inviting us for ice cream. What do you say?"

"Maybe another hit with this can undo the damage?" Kimiko mused, rolling the magazine in her hands. Aomine backed away as she smirked.

"Akumi, I'm starting to think that you want to kill me. Seriously," Aomine said as they exited the convenience store, popsicle in hand.

The chartreusette laughed. "Come on, you survived a day with me before," she said. "Compared to the beatings you received from me today, it's not even half of what I used to give you when we were in Teikou."

Aomine winced at the recollection.

"You didn't stop teasing Aku-chan about her hair then..." Momoi said with a giggle. The two used to bicker a lot to the amusement of the whole club. Aomine would say that Kimiko's hair was dyed, to which the girl would retaliate by saying that Aomine got his tan by sunbathing in the school's rooftop in the nude.

"I tell you, my hair is perfectly natural," Kimiko said with a glare.

"Then does that mean that your parents have green and yellow hair?" Aomine wondered, causing both girls to look at him incredulously.

"Where did you even get that kind of logic?" Kimiko said with a sigh. Then again, Aomine was either absent or cutting classes when they were discussing about genes in biology. Not like he'd understand it, anyway.

"...so if we add Midorima and Kise, we get... you?" the tanned ace continued. Kimiko choked on her popsicle.

Momoi didn't get it, though. "Hah?"

"Then that makes you a product of Shuuzo and Tetsuya, then?" Kimiko said flatly. "Black and light blue makes dark-blue, doesn't it?"

Aomine grinned. "And Satsuki here is from Kise and Akashi."

It suddenly dawned on the pinkette. "Ah! I see! You're talking about our hair colors!"

"Took you long enough to catch up," Aomine said and Momoi stuck her tongue out at him.

"Well, you two always talks about the weirdest topics after all. And hair color is not like mixing paint - you don't get them by simply mixing the colors of her parents' hair!"

Kimiko and Aomine promptly ignored her outburst and continued with their nonsense.

"So where were we?"

"We're finished with the three of us. That leaves Tetsuya, Ryouta, Shintarou, Shuuzo, Seijuurou and Atsushi."

"Nijimura-senpai would be a combination of all our colors," Momoi said with a pout, deciding to join in instead of correcting them. After all, if you can't beat them, then join them. "His hair is black after all."

"His name would make more sense if his hair was rainbow-colored, though," Kimiko said thoughtfully, and as her companions imagined their former captain with such hair color, they couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"How about Tetsu?"

"Uhm... Right... Tetsu-kun has light-blue hair..."

Kimiko raised an eyebrow. "It's simple — add Daiki and Shougo and you get Tetsuya."

"Why did that guy suddenly got included?!" Aomine asked.

"Dai-chan and Shougo-kun... Eh?! I can't believe Tetsu-kun came from them..." Momoi complained. Her angelic Tetsu-kun coming from such people?!

"So Ki-chan is from him and Midorin?"

"Or it could be from him and Akumi..."

"I prefer the first combination..." Kimiko said. "And Shintarou would be from Ryouta and Daiki."

"Or it could be from you and Nijimura-senpai."

At Momoi's additional remark, Kimiko thought it over. "I'm not sure — does black and yellow-green makes green?"

"Who knows... Does pink and black make red?"

"I think so."

"Then — Murasakibara is from me and... Akashi?"

"Wouldn't it be funnier if our tallest guy came from the two shortest ones instead? Add red and light-blue and you still get purple, right?" Kimiko suggested, grinning widely. Momoi's eyes widened in surprise, then she covered her mouth trying to stop her from laughing out loud.

Aomine gave her a high-five as he laughed. "Yeah. And if you add their height, you'll get Murasakibara's!"

"Nice one, Daiki!"

That was the last straw. As the three joined in another round of laughter, Momoi felt tears welling up in her eyes. She's not sure if they were the result of her laughing so hard or if it was from something else.

 _It's been a long time since Dai-chan looked so happy and peaceful — it's like before he bloomed..._

 _I hope this moment will never end._

What she didn't know is that Aomine is also wishing for the same thing.

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 **I wonder how will Akashi react if he ever heard about that joke Kimiko made about him and Kuroko...**


	16. 第16章

**Author's Note:** Akashi is no longer heterochromatic (it was stated in the last line...) That's all.

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **16** **章**

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— **土** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **30** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

It was four o'clock in the morning when Kimiko's phone rang.

 **"Akumicchi! We have an emergency!"**

The girl almost dropped her phone at the loud voice that greeted her from the other end of the line. Glaring at the device, she put it back to her ear and yawned.

"...What...?"

 **"I said, we have an emergency!"**

Kimiko rubbed her eyes sleepily. "...Okay..."

 **"Akumicchi, you have to help!"**

"...Hmmm..."

At her answer, Kise wailed. **"Akumicchi, this is a matter of importance!"**

"...Try again later..." Kimiko buried her face in her pillow, muffling the last part of her sentence.

 **"NOOO! Akumicchi, you can't —"**

She shot up in bed and muttered angrily. "The hell, Ryouta... Don't you know what time is it?"

 **"It's — seven minutes past four in the morning..."** Kise replied slowly, before shouting once again. **"But Akumicchi, this is really, really, really, really, really, really important!"**

 _Kami, shut him up, please_. The girl sighed, massaging her temples with her free hand. _I think I'm going to get a headache._

"And just what is this _matter_ _of_ _importance_ that you're talking about?"

 **"It's about Kurokocchi's birthday tomorrow!"**

 _I should've guessed, what with the others already bugging me about it._

The day before, Momoi had told her the reason why she asked to visit Kimiko — the pinkette was asking Kimiko to help her bake a vanilla cake for her beloved Tetsu-kun. Midorima came by with Takao in the afternoon asking her about the said event, insisting that he is just asking.

 _Not that I'm interested, nanodayo. As his previous teammate, I feel responsible to give him a birthday gift, that's all._

Murasakibara had sent her a message asking if it's alright to buy Kuroko lots of vanilla-flavored food as a gift, while Aomine was wondering if the phantom would be interested in Mai-chan as well, to which Kimiko threatened him that she will kill Aomine personally if he dare to influence Kuroko with his pervertedness.

At their hopelessness, it was Kimiko's job to ensure that everything turns out well tomorrow. That means, she'll mostly plan their activities for said celebration and organize everything —the food, the drinks, the games, music, etc.

"Ryouta?"

 **"...H-hai, Akumicchi?"**

"I'm going back to sleep."

 **"W-wait, Aku—"**

"Come to my apartment after lunch. And tell the others. Then we can talk about it properly, not when it's so early in the morning when my brain is still not functioning properly. Got that?"

 **"Okay! Thanks a lot, Akumicchi! You're the best!"**

"Yeah, yeah... Now let me sleep..."

 **"Okay! I'm hanging up now! See you later, Akumicchi!"**

 _As if I can get back to sleep after that_ , she thought as she stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. Getting up from her bed, the chartreusette washed her face and changed into sports attire. Grabbing her iPod, she went out into the chilly January morning, jogging the route that she and the rest of the first string members of Teikou's basketball club used to follow during their early morning practices, thinking of her inevitable meeting with a certain red-haired boy tomorrow, hoping that everything will turn out fine.

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 **** Kyoto, Japan ****

 **京都** **、** **日本**

"Sei-chan? Are you alright?" Mibuchi asked the redhead as they jogged around the old city. The black-haired shooting guard was worried about his captain, who had shown up that Saturday morning at their meeting place looking unusually disgruntled and a bit disheveled, as if he hadn't slept the previous night. Akashi had started acting like this since Thursday morning, and it bothered Mibuchi to no end whenever he sees the redhead's eyes lose their focus once in a while, looking at something that Mibuchi cannot see, or whenever he hears the redhead sigh quietly, then checking his phone as if waiting for an important call or message.

But what alarmed Mibuchi the most was when he saw Akashi alone in the council room, working on some documents, when without warning, he slammed his hands on the desk in a sudden fit of anger, and then resting his elbows on the surface and burying his face in his hands in frustration.

Never had he seen Akashi in such state.

That is, until that day. Yesterday, to be exact.

"...Everything's fine, Mibuchi. Why do you ask?"

He didn't miss the way Akashi's answer was a bit late in coming, and that made him frown.

 _Something is really wrong with Sei-chan._

But the question is, what is it exactly?

When their classes ended for the day, Akashi was waiting for Mibuchi by the door of Rakuzan's gym. He had his school bag slung on his shoulders, and he looks ready to go home.

"Mibuchi, tell everyone that there will be no formal practice this afternoon, but if they want to, they are free to use the gym. I'll be going to Tokyo on business."

Mibuchi blinked. _No practice?_ "Sure. I'll deliver your message to the club members."

"Thank you," the redhead said, nodding, before turning to leave the wondering _Yasha_ by himself.

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Akashi went home to eat lunch and change his clothes before heading off to the station, where he boarded the train bound for Tokyo. He tried to ignore the fact that his heart is beating faster than normal and that he is actually feeling uneasy as he read Midorima's message to him. Earlier that day, he had sent the rest of the _Kiseki_ _no_ _Sedai_ , with the exception of Kuroko (since he's the birthday boy) and Kimiko his summons to gather at a certain branch of Maji Burger where they would talk and plan about Kuroko's birthday party. Akashi would not admit it, but not including Kimiko in his message was due to his childish side — he was actually sulking due to the fact that Kimiko did not inform him of his presence when she had already met the others — and this hurt Akashi greatly, and for the first time in his life, Akashi felt unimportant and insignificant, making him wonder if this was how Kuroko felt, being forgotten, only mentioned as an afterthought and partly because he's not sure if she'd already changed her number and email address since she never replied to any of his previous calls and messages.

However, it seemed that someone had beaten him in taking charge for the party planning.

 _ **[From: Midorima Shintarou]**_

 _ **03:14PM: About that... someone is already taking care of it.**_

Akashi didn't miss that Midorima had intentionally avoided mentioning any names — perhaps thinking that Akashi will mistook that _someone_ as Kuroko's present teammates, most especially Kagami Taiga. It was possible, had not Akashi learned from his phone call to Aomine last Thursday that the chartreusette was already back. It seems that the rest had probably known about that fact, and most probably met or seen her in person, yet no one bothered to inform him about it.

Akashi hates not knowing something.

 _ **[To: Midorima Shintarou]**_

 _ **03:15PM: And who exactly is that 'someone', Midorima?**_

Five minutes had passed and still no reply from Midorima. Akashi smiled bitterly. The green-haired boy was probably debating with himself if he should tell Akashi or not. And that kinda... hurt. To think that the others would feel the need to protect Kimiko to the point of keeping her away from him — from someone that is and always have been a part of their group... But he could not blame them for acting as such. After all, it was his action that served as the last straw — the one that convinced the chartreusette to ditch everything and leave.

 _ **[To: Midorima Shintarou]**_

 _ **03:31PM: Is it Akumi?**_

He could almost imagine Midorima staring at his phone in shock, and running through the possibilities in his mind on who could have been responsible for leaking such information to Akashi in the first place. No one would do that, of course, and it would come as no surprise to the redhead if they would consider his name as a taboo word when they are with the chartreusette, even though Kimiko wouldn't think of it that way — well, Akashi hopes so. He was never able to predict her accurately as he could with the others. Kimiko can be impulsive at times, depending on her mood.

He gave up waiting for Midorima's reply, letting him try to figure out how the hell Akashi managed to know that piece of information, knowing perfectly that Midorima would never expect that Akashi had actually found out by pure accident. He doubts that Aomine would even notice — well, he would if he would just look at the duration of their last phone call — but Aomine was an idiot and he wouldn't be able to figure it out. The _ganguro_ had forgotten all about Akashi the moment he saw Kimiko.

It was already half past four in the afternoon when Akashi arrived in Tokyo. He had taken back his orders for the Kiseki no Sedai to meet up, and had merely told them that he will attend Kuroko's birthday party that coming Sunday.

No one would be expecting him today.

 _I wonder how_ she _will react to seeing me again._

And with that thought in mind, Akashi headed off to his next destination in mind.

Which happened to be a certain chartreusette's house.

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 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

"Oi, Shintarou, is something wrong? You seem agitated for some reason — is there something you don't approve of?" Kimiko asked, looking at Midorima in curiosity.

Midorima exhaled, then pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Pocketing his phone, he said, "...No, it's nothing, _nanodayo_."

Kimiko doesn't look entirely convinced, but decided to let it pass. They were now on the final stages of their preparation — the only things to do would be to go and buy whatever needs to be bought and set up what needs to be set up. It was agreed that Kimiko, Kise, and Kagami would be the ones manning the kitchen (yes, Kagami was invited, so was Himuro and Takao — no one objected to it, and Kuroko was more or less a friend of theirs, as well), Momoi, Takao, and Midorima would take care of the decorations (party hats, party poppers, etc), while Aomine, Himuro, and Murasakibara would be in charge of the games (with Kimiko's approval, of course). She glanced at the clock — it's already nearing four o'clock. She stood up and stretched her arms; sitting down for a long period of time makes her feel lazy.

"Okay, sooo... Time to go the grocery! Who wants to come with me? I need two people to carry everything."

"Me, me, me!" Kise raised his hand and waved it in the air enthusiastically.

"I'll go with you as well," Himuro offered.

Kimiko clapped her hands. "Good! Now, Shintarou, Kazunari, you go to the mall and buy these things." She handed them a list. "To those who will remain here, I expect you to behave. Taiga, Daiki, you can be as loud as you like but if one of you creates a mess in my house, I'll kick you out." The two shivered at the threat. "Atsushi, there are some snacks in the cupboard and ice cream in the fridge. Satsuki, keep an eye on things, will you? We need the place in one piece if we are to use it for the party tomorrow. Got that?" A chorus of "Hai" was their answer. Satisfied that they listened to her reminders and warnings, she turned to her two companions. "Ryouta, Tatsuya, let's go."

"Ne, Akumicchi, you and Himurocchi seems pretty close..." Kise said on their way to the grocery store, hoping that he wasn't sounding jealous or something.

"Hmm? Well, Tatsuya is a pretty nice person and he helped me out when some idiots tried to mess up with me," Kimiko replied.

"Eh? Someone tried to hurt you?" Kise asked in surprise.

Himuro chuckled. "Well, they _tried_. Akumi broke a few noses and knocked out two people when I arrived at the scene."

Kise pouted at that then turned to Kimiko, who was smiling sheepishly. "Akumicchi, you really are a magnet for trouble..."

Entering the store, the three earned a lot of stares from the other customers. As they passed a group of girls who were whispering and giggling while looking at them, Kimiko sighed.

"Maybe I shouldn't have brought you two along with me..." she muttered, picking up several packs of pasta and dropping them on Himuro's basket.

"Hmmm? Why is that, Akumi?" the raven head asked as he and Kise followed her to another aisle.

"Because you two attract too much attention." She gestured at a group of six girls that had been following them around for a while now.

"Isn't that Kise-kun? Kyaaa! He's so handsome in real life!" one of them said.

"Who's the other guy with him? He looks cool and mysterious... Is he also a model?" another whispered not too quietly to her friend.

Kise waved at them, causing a few to faint at being acknowledge by their idol, while Himuro only gave a polite smile to them.

"Ne, who's that girl with them?"

"How dare she treat Kise-sama as her slave!"

Kimiko snorted at their words. "Tsk. Seriously. See what I mean, Tatsuya?"

"Eh? But the same thing happens when I'm with Akumicchi — other guys would stare at you and would try to hit on you whenever I leave your side for a short moment!" Kise complained.

"Ugh. Whatever. When will they stop following us?"

"Just don't mind them, Akumi," Himuro said. His lone eye shone with amusement. "I'm sure they'll get tired sooner or later."

Well, they didn't, and Kimiko got a lot of glares every time she drops something in either of the baskets that the boys were carrying, or whenever she scolds Kise for putting in random things that were not included in their shopping list.

"Ryouta! What in the world are we going to do with _natto_?"

"But, Akumicchi, it looks interesting — see?" Kise held it up for her to see.

"Shintarou hates _natto_ , you know..."

"Akumi, what are we having for drinks? Are we having cola?"

"Uh, no. Tetsuya doesn't drink cola. We'll just have juice — healthier, too." She caught Kise putting in a pack of _wakame_ into his basket. She automatically said, "Ryouta, put that back! Se—" And then she stopped when she almost bit her tongue.

 _Seijuurou hates wakame._

And wondered if she is really ready to meet him again.

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In the mall, Midorima allowed himself to be led by Takao as they looked for the items on Kimiko's list.

 _How did Akashi knew about Kimiko?_ Midorima had worn out his brain thinking about the answer to that question. _Well, Akashi always seem to know everything — down to the most trivial matters._ One of the reasons why you shouldn't mess up with the redhead. He's got plenty of possible blackmail material. _But Akashi is certainly no clairvoyant. He needs something to derive his conclusions. He can't simply say that he knows about Kimiko's return just because he felt it or something as absurd as that. There has to be a logical cause behind it. Akashi is a person of logic._

What will happen tomorrow then? Akashi was sure to be there, as well as Kimiko (it's her house that they'll be using, after all) and Midorima cannot for the life of him imagine how their reunion will turn out.

He just hopes that the two will not do anything stupid, if their little arguments in middle school (before Akashi changed) were anything to go by. They will never admit it, and would probably die before they do, but Teikou's captain and first-string coach can be pretty immature when it comes to arguing with one another. Hearing them fight is like listening to some twisted childish fight with lots of big words and references to scientific or philosophical ideas, though how they managed to fit those things over an argument on petty issues Midorima has simply no idea.

And if a squabbling Akashi and Kimiko was bad enough — enough to give everyone withing hearing range massive headaches — the two agreeing on something was even worse. Especially if that something involves scheming or plotting of some sort. Once those pairs of gold and crimson eyes meet in concurrence, expect them to concoct the most ridiculously brilliant plan ever. Midorima still shivers whenever he remembers that time when they, with the addition of Kuroko (who can be a little devil too when it comes to revenge, thanks to Akashi and Kimiko's influence), set the whole population of Teikou Middle School after him, Kise, Aomine and Murasakibara when they failed to be cooperative.

"...Shin-chan? Shin-chan?" Takao waved a party hat in front of his face.

Midorima swatted it away. "Stop that, Takao."

"I was asking you if this design was fine. Kimi-chan told us to get something that's basketball-themed." He pointed to several hats on the shelves. "Which do you like?"

Shutoku's ace pointed to the one that Takao also preferred, making the shorter boy to smile at him brightly. "Good choice, Shin-chan!" Grabbing a dozen of them, he hooked his arm around Midorima's own and dragged him off to their next item. "Let's go get some party poppers!"

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"Whatever you say, Bakagami... I'm still stronger than you."

"You saying, Ahomine?"

Aomine sneered as he ducked a flying throw pillow. "Want proof? I'll take you on a one-on-one tomorrow. Then you'll see that I am better than you."

"Hah! Bring it on!"

Off to the side, Midorima, who had just arrived back from the mall, sighed at the two idiots. "Kagami, stop throwing those pi —"

 _FWAP!_

Aomine smirked as the pillow hit its target, which happened to be Midorima's face.

"AOMINE...!"

At Midorima's angry face, Aomine sweatdropped. _Uh-oh. I forgot that this guy has deadly accuracy when it comes to throwing things._ The enraged three-pointer grabbed a couple of pillows and threw them at Aomine, hitting him square in the face. When he ran out of ammunition, Takao tossed him more pillows.

"Here you go, Shin-chan!"

"Oi, Takao, don't help that four-eyed freak!"

"And why wouldn't he?" Midorima said, accepting another pillow from the grinning hawk-eyed boy and chucking it at Aomine, who was trying his best to avoid them if not for Kagami who was blocking his way.

"Oi, Bakagami, move!"

The redhead smirked and laughed at him. "Why would I?"

"You—"

The doorbell rang, interrupting their argument. Remembering the chartreusette's words, the four scrambled to pick up the pillows strewn all over the floor and return them back to their original positions. Momoi was the one who answered the door.

However, the one who came in was not Kimiko.

"Akashi?!" Aomine, Kagami, and Midorima exclaimed as one. The emperor only gave them a small smile as their eyes followed him as he sat on the only love seat in the living room.

"Why are you so surprised? Of course I will be here for Kuroko's birthday." He placed the paper bag with his gift to the phantom on the table before him. Leaning back on his seat, he crossed his legs and looked each of them in the eye. "Now," he said, looking around the room as the rest of the occupants sweat-dropped, "why am I not informed of this gathering?"

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Kimiko opened the door to her house, leading Kise and Himuro inside, loaded with grocery bags. They were chatting a bit noisily about something when Kimiko suddenly held up her hand, shutting the two up. They paused in the entryway.

"Akumicchi...?" Kise asked, confused.

"Can you hear that?" she asked softly, and the two boys cocked their heads to listen.

"...I don't hear anything..."

"Me, too."

Kimiko snapped her fingers. "Exactly!"

"Well, that's certainly weird," Himuro agreed. "Taiga and Aomine can never stay quiet for long, and Takao should be bugging Midorima — if they had already returned from their own shopping."

Kise thought for a moment. "Maybe they left or they fell asleep?"

"I don't think so," the girl murmured as they headed quietly to the living room area. _Why do I get a bad feeling over this?_

"Maybe Momoicchi cooked something and made them eat it?" Kise suddenly said just as they reached the end of the entryway. His statement made Kimiko laugh as she visualized the others fainting at the dining table, with Momoi looking at them innocently wondering why the guys suddenly lost their consciousness.

"Ryouta, Satsuki will surely get mad if she hears that!"

Kimiko turned her gaze to the living room area. On the couch, she could see the myriad of hair colors from the persons sitting there, gathered all together as if they were holding a conference over her coffee table, and they all turned to her when she and her two companions made their entrance. Everyone looked tense and nervous — even Murasakibara was not eating his snacks.

She tilted her head slightly as she stared back at them. "What's wrong with you, guys?"

She then heard Kise gasp behind her, and she was about to ask him what was his problem also when her brain registered the fact that there are two redheads in the room.

There, in the gap between Aomine and Kagami's heads, sitting across them was one Akashi Seijuurou, with his bright ruby eyes, calmly looking straight at her.

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	17. 第17章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **17** **章**

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— **土** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **30** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

Akashi slowly opened his eyes as the last person, Aomine, finished his narration of his meeting with Kimiko. Kagami had been the one who told Kuroko's meeting with Kimiko, and Murasakibara was the one who relayed Himuro's encounter with the chartreusette. After hearing everything, except Kise's, Akashi had more or less drawn a rough timeline of what Kimiko had been up to all this time, which was simply wandering around Tokyo and bumping into old — and new – friends along the way.

And she had been doing that for about a month now.

What irked the redhead was that she didn't bother telling him. _Does she hate me, then?_

Okay, so he was in Kyoto — that's pretty far from Tokyo — and with the upcoming Nationals, not to mention his several other duties, there's no way that Akashi would have the time to be taking a trip to Tokyo (today, of course, was an exception). There's no way that they would meet by coincidence on the streets.

Besides, Akashi does not believe in coincidence.

From what the others had told him, Kimiko had treated them just as she always had when they were still in Teikou. That's understandable — aside from Murasakibara's display of ingratitude, none of them really hurt Kimiko the way he did. Kuroko, Midorima, and Momoi were all blameless, Kise not-so because he and Aomine, together with Murasakibara, always create trouble in and out of the court. Out of them all, he was the one who committed the worst crime against her.

Everyone around him was quiet as he contemplated on how he should face Kimiko. He knows perfectly well that he has no right to feel angry at her nor is he in the position to make demands, but the act of keeping him out of their planning for Kuroko's birthday makes Akashi want to throw a tantrum. He was like a kid that was denied his favorite toy.

 _This is ridiculous,_ he thought, pinching the bridge of his nose. _Of all the times to be childish._

Midorima watched Akashi from the corner of his eyes. The redhead was deep in thought, and looks unusually troubled.

 _Just don't do anything stupid, Akashi,_ Midorima wanted to say, but Akashi would definitely give him hell for calling him _stupid_. Akashi was anything but that.

Unless a certain chartreusette was involved, and Akashi's intellect seems to go into hiding.

After all, Kimiko Akumi was the only person that can taunt the calm and composed Akashi to do something that's totally undignified, such as a food fight in the school's rooftop, for example.

A few minutes later, they heard the door open and voices can be heard from the entryway. Everyone froze, Akashi included. He unconsciously clenched his fists.

The voices became louder, and he could hear Kise's cheerful voice, Himuro's calm one...

And then a feminine voice joined in.

Akashi clenched his fists tighter. On the outside, he looks as he normally does — calm, composed, confident, undaunted. However, inside was a completely different story.

He's slowly becoming a nervous, psychotic mess.

So maybe coming here was not a good idea.

At all.

Their footsteps were louder now.

"Ryouta, Satsuki will surely get mad if she hears that!" And then she laughed — the sound crystal-clear like wind chimes in the lazy spring breeze. Akashi gritted his teeth at the memories it brought, and without his consent, his eyes flickered to the entryway just as Kimiko stepped into the main room.

His breath caught in his throat.

She was just as he remembered her to be — golden eyes bright and shining with happiness, lime-green hair swaying with her every movement, pink lips curved in that sweetly mischievous smile of hers. She then turned, looking at their huddled group curiously, and Akashi found his own eyes gravitating to her golden orbs.

She must have not seen him yet, as he was partially hidden from view by Aomine and Kagami who was sitting on the couch in front of him. She asked, then, "What's wrong with you, guys?"

He remained utterly motionless, absolutely no idea how to proceed at this point. He schooled his features to his default detached expression. Someone gasped, and at that moment, the two made eye contact for the first time in a year.

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Kimiko stared back at the redhead. _I'm not ready for this!_ she screamed in her mind. She panicked and without thinking, she took a few steps back and made a beeline to the kitchen. Alone, Kimiko took several deep breaths as she leaned on the kitchen counter, trying her best to calm her wildly beating heart.

 _Seijuurou_ _is_ _here_.

"...Akumicchi..."

Kise entered the kitchen, followed by a silent Himuro. They both eyed her worriedly. Noticing that, Kimiko smiled at them to ease their worries and told them to just put the groceries there and she will just take care of it.

"Kagamicchi and I can help you for dinner," the blond offered. Kimiko shook her head.

"No, no, I'll... I'll be fine by myself, Ryouta."

Kise knew better than to say anymore. Nodding at Himuro, they left the kitchen to allow her to gather her thoughts.

 _This is a disaster_ , she thought as she busied herself with arranging the groceries. It's not that she wasn't anticipating him. She did. In fact, she'd already thought it over — from the moment Akashi steps in through her apartment door down to their goodbyes... She had it already planned.

But then again, she was talking about tomorrow — when she would be the one to surprise Akashi and not the other way around.

 _I thought Ryouta did not message him about today's gathering?_

She gasped, almost dropping the bottle of oil as she realized what she had done: she just ignored Akashi Seijuurou back at the living room!

"Idiot!" she hissed at herself. " _Baka, baka, baka, baka_! Argh, why do you have to be so stupid?!"

One thing is for sure: Kimiko does not hate Akashi — that's for certain. It's just that he was a different person when she left, and even though Kuroko said that the original Akashi had returned, Kimiko cannot help but feel slightly apprehensive at first.

It took her five minutes to find the strength to show herself back at the living room, just in time to see Akashi and Midorima talking near the entryway. Kise was there, too. The rest occupied the sofas, silent and stiff.

"Give her time, Akashi. She's just probably surprised to see you, _nanodayo_."

"It was rude of me to come here uninvited. I'll just come back tomorrow for the party," she heard Akashi say, his voice sounding a bit strained to her ears.

"B-but Akashicchi! Kyoto is two hours away! Why don't you just stay here? Akumicchi won't mind... Besides, we're all going to stay here for tonight — it'll be just like old times!"

"I don't want to impose. And I didn't bring anything with me. I intend to stay in a hotel for tonight."

Midorima adjusted his glasses as he replied. "Kimiko can surely lend you some pillows and blankets. She probably has an extra _futon_ as well."

"Midorimacchi's right! You don't ha—" he stopped when Akashi glared at him. Probably. Akashi has his back to Kimiko so she couldn't exactly see his facial expression, but she could see that he is tense.

"Don't go deciding what's alright and what's not with Akumi, Kise. This is her home." Akashi paused. "I'll be taking my leave now."

At that statement, Kimiko cleared her throat a bit loudly, making them jump at the sudden sound. Akashi didn't turn around. "Uhm, Taiga, Ryouta, can you help me in the kitchen? And.. Seijuurou..." Kimiko hesitated, then continued in a small voice, "Can you... can you at least stay... for dinner?"

Akashi gave a small sigh. Kimiko was probably being polite by inviting him to dinner. "I was just about to leave, Akumi. I'll be back tomorrow. I apologize for my intrusion," he answered, totally ignoring her question. He headed to the entryway, moving past Kise and Midorima. He walked away slowly, hoping that she would call him back to her, to just let him know that she needed him, still welcomed him in some way or another. However, as he nears the end of the hall that leads to the front door, he realizes that she is NOT going to call him back.

 _So that's how it is._

But, then maybe he was jumping too much ahead, for there was a rush of footsteps and suddenly he hears her call out his name loud and clear right behind him.

"Seijuurou!"

He stops, hand on the doorknob just as he felt her hand caught the sleeve of his coat. "...Yes?"

 _Tell me to stay, Akumi._

And as if hearing his wish, Kimiko did just that.

"C-can you stay?"

Akashi bit his lip. "...I —"

"...Please?" he hears her say, and... was that a sob?

He turns slowly, willing the inner voice in his head to calm down from its excited dancing and ignores the growing dread in his chest.

"Akumi..." and then he saw her misty eyes gazing back at him almost pleadingly, her hand releasing its hold on his coat and dropping back uselessly to her side as she bit her lip nervously.

He berated himself sarcastically. _Nice going, Seijuurou. Less than thirty minutes and you already managed to make her cry._

He didn't know when and how but the next thing he knew, he already was embracing her gently, a hand on top of her head as he whispered to her in a soft voice, "I'll stay, Akumi. I'll stay... Just... Don't cry." He hugged her tighter as she clutched at the front of his shirt, burying her face in his chest. "I never meant to make you cry."

Midorima, who heard him say those words to the sniffling chartreusette, was the one getting stressed over this whole affair.

Akashi really has a penchant for theatrics.

But then again, why is it that he seem to care so much about those two, anyway?

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When everything calmed down, Akashi ended up helping in the kitchen as well. Everything was fine, except for the fact that Kimiko was a bit jumpy around him.

"What do you guys want for dinner?" she asked the people at the dining table. When everyone answered a different dish, Akashi stared at them blankly.

"What drinks would you prefer to go with those, pray tell?"

"Uh, maybe we can just have curry..." Takao said, laughing nervously.

"Curry it is," Kagami said, taking out the needed ingredients. Being the two most skilled with knives, the task of chopping up the vegetables fell to Kimiko and Akashi, while Kagami and Kise did their best in peeling those that need to be peeled and handing it over to the two.

By the dining table, Aomine whistled at the pro-level speed of their chopping. "One of the reasons why you should never mess with those two," he mused.

"It's very nostalgic, ne?" Momoi said with a smile. The sight of them standing side by side at the chartreusette's kitchen counter... Back then, Kise was with them at the table, content at watching their two leaders handle the cooking. The only thing missing would be the childish bickering between them.

 _Aku-chan is still nervous with Akashi-kun, though._

"You're slicing the potatoes incorrectly," Akashi suddenly said beside Kimiko after a few minutes in their chopping. "Yours were too big." He gestured at the girl's work with his knife.

 _Or maybe not._

 _Here they go again_ , and there came a collective sigh from the Kiseki no Sedai.

 _In three, two, one —_

"Oh, shut up, Seijuurou," Kimiko huffed indignantly. "Unlike you, I don't have a built-in caliper in my eye, okay?"

The redhead raised an eyebrow at her, then gave her a sliced potato. "They should be this big."

She looked at the offered potato as if it was a strange object. "What's the difference? We're just gonna eat them, anyway. No one's gonna complain if they were not of the same size or what. They can be as big or small as I want to."

Akashi then stopped slicing and set his knife down. "Then we can just cook them as they are," he said, eyeing the remaining vegetables. "We'll have curry with whole onions, whole cloves of garlic, whole potatoes, and whole carrots. Looks appetizing to me." He smirked as the chartreusette looked at him in irritation. Pure horror was written on her face as she conjured in her mind the image of Akashi's 'curry'.

"Argh! You — tsk, fine! Fine!" She shoved the container containing all the peeled potatoes to him. "Slice them yourself! I'll mind the carrots!"

"The carrots should be this big, Akumi," and Akashi gestured with his thumb and index finger a certain length, earning a glare from the girl.

"You don't know how to give up, do you?" she sighed.

Akashi went back to his chopping. He replied innocently, "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

"Hmp," Kimiko rolled her eyes at him. "Whatever you say, Seijuurou, whatever you say."

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After a very delicious dinner and another round of argument about the uniformity of the sizes of the ingredients of said dinner, Momoi roped Aomine into washing the dishes with her, giving him the task of drying them while Murasakibara arranged them in their proper storage areas. Himuro and Takao were with Kagami, and Kimiko was just sending them off after resting a while after their meal. The two would be sleeping over at Kagami's apartment, not wanting to get in the way with the Teiko group and their reunion-slash-sleepover. When they had already left, Kimiko found Kise and Aomine arguing about who should take the spot near the wall. By then, the couches and the table were moved to one side of the living room to make space for the five teens who will be sleeping on the floor in their futons that they had carried with them.

While the two teens argued about that particular spot, they didn't notice a yawning Murasakibara dragging his beddings with him and placing them on that spot. By the time they realized that, the purple-head was already settled in and there's no way that would make him budge from it.

Staring at the scene in front of her, Kimiko smiled. They haven't changed, after all those things. They're still the same funny idiots that loves basketball just as they care for one another, even though some won't admit it.

"Akumi," Akashi said, joining her in watching the noisy group just like they always did in the past.

"Hmm?"

"I'm going.

She turned to him so fast Akashi feared for her neck. "What? Why?" she asked, confused.

"I did say I'm staying at a hotel tonight, didn't I?"

Kimiko was about to offer to lend him beddings when she remembered that she doesn't have an extra futon. The couch was out of the question — it would be too uncomfortable and she doubt Akashi would accept that offer. A hotel room is probably much, much ideal for the redhead.

Seeing Momoi though, she had an idea. "Momoi and I can share my bed, and then you can use her futon for tonight!"

"How about you two share instead?" Midorima suddenly appeared beside them.

"Why so, Midorima?" Akashi turned to the green-head, who refused to meet his gaze and instead fixed his stare on the spot above Akashi's head.

Kimiko, on the other hand, didn't see anything wrong with it, though. "Why not?" she replied for Midorima, then continued. "You never liked sleeping on the floor — not without your super-comfy futon anyway."

In middle school, Akashi had slept over at her house too many times specially when they were newly inducted as captain and head coach, and Akashi ended up keeping a _futon_ in Kimiko's bedroom to sleep in.

Akashi has no choice to agree. He doesn't want to leave anyway, if he was to be honest with himself.

"You're fine with this?" he asked as Kimiko led him to the bedroom upstairs. He sat at the edge of the king-sized bed as she rummaged in her closet for another blanket and additional pillows, which she tossed to him unceremoniously.

"Unless you prefer a hotel room," she replied. They'd already changed into their bedclothes already, she in her nightgown and pajamas, he in a gray shirt and black jersey shorts.

He shrugged, and she told him that she'll check on the ones downstairs. When she returned, Akashi was already lying down, tucked under his own blanket, staring at the ceiling, her bedside lamp the only source of light in the dim room. As Kimiko herself settled on her king-sized bed, she noticed one thing.

"Seijuurou," she said, looking at the large space that the redhead had left for her on her side of the bed.

"Hm?" he hummed quietly.

"I'm not fat, I hope you know that."

"I don't think I understand where you're getting with that statement."

Kimiko then edged closer to him and Akashi almost fell off the bed when he tried to maintain their distance. He heard her laugh. "Akumi."

She replied with a saccharine voice. "Yes?"

"Move."

"Why?"

Akashi leveled his gaze at the smirking girl hugging a pillow to her chest. "I'm about to fall off, if you don't notice it by now."

"Really?" Golden eyes widened in mock surprise.

"I thought you said that we're going to share the bed."

"I did."

"And by share, I thought _equally_."

Kimiko pretended to think it over. "I don't remember saying such a thing — _equally_ , I mean."

"Akumi," Akashi said again.

"...Yes?"

"Just do as I say."

"Why?" she moved even closer, knowing full well that Akashi has nowhere to move further, unless he gets off the bed. "Afraid of cooties?"

Akashi snorted lightly. "I embraced you earlier, didn't I?"

Any witty retort died on her lips as she blushed at the sudden reminder of their hug earlier. To Akashi's amusement, Kimiko went back to her side of the bed faster than the eye could blink. As he too moved over to his original spot, he couldn't help teasing the now quiet chartreusette. "Afraid of cooties?" he asked, using her own words against her.

"Shut up," she said, burying her face in her pillow, thankful that it was too dim for her blush to be seen.

"Akumi."

"What?" she replied, raising her head slightly to look at him. Akashi's expression is serious.

"I'm sorry." Kimiko blinked at the sudden apology. "For hurting you that time. I didn't —" A flick at the forehead stopped him from going further.

"Bakashi." It was his turn to be surprised. He ignored the nickname she used — Akashi doesn't mind as long as she was the one calling him that.

"Akumi," Akashi wanted to argue but she shook her head.

"Get over it, Seijuurou. I know you're feeling responsible over it, and yes, I was hurt — but it's all in the past. There's no undoing the damage, and I'm talking about all of us here, not just me. All of us have our own scars from that incident, specially you, and honestly, I find it annoying that everyone's focus was me or Tetsuya. I mean, we were all at fault here; we've been victims and perpetrators at some point or so. That being said, there's no point in finding someone on whom to pin the blame. Why not just focus on making up for all our lost time? On renewing our friendships? On strengthening our bonds? On creating new memories?" She looked him straight in the eye. "Don't you think so?"

It was a few moments until Akashi smiled warmly at her. No wonder everyone in their circle treated Kimiko as they do. "Yes, I agree."

"Good."

However, he was not yet done. "But still, I —"

"Seijuurou." Kimiko imitated his tone earlier when he said her name.

"Yes?"

"Go to sleep."

Akashi sighed softly. How can Kimiko forgive everything and everyone so easily? As if reading his thoughts, Kimiko added, "You're one of my precious people, okay? And I know you won't do that again, right?" He nodded. "Then, good night, Seijuurou. We've a busy day tomorrow."

"Aa." Kuroko would be here tomorrow, and they would be complete. Kimiko had turned her back to him, but he knows she's still awake. As he closed his eyes, he murmured in a voice just loud enough for her to hear.

"Good night, Akumi."

He didn't hear her whisper the words, "Welcome back, Seijuurou."

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	18. 第18章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **18** **章**

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 _"Akumi," Akashi said, a hint of twisted amusement in his voice as he approached the chartreusette who was openly glaring at him. "I truly appreciate the things you do for the team, but what I said still stands. No one can possibly defeat us — not at this level." He looked at her pointedly. "What the first string needs from you is to construct plays, not more training menus. That's for the other strings to do."_

 _Kimiko answered between gritted teeth. "You can mess up your opponents' minds well enough without my help."_

 _Her words elicited a short laugh from the redhead. "I've always been a good student," he said. "Especially since I learned from the_ best _."_

 _The girl visibly flinched as Akashi continued nonchalantly, "I remember you having no qualms about it before. As always, you were brilliant in thinking such strategy — fear is always useful when it comes to manipulating people, don't you think so, dear coach?"_

 _He took a step forward. "I don't know why you hesitate now. You were once eager to share your game plans with me. Don't tell me that you're actually feeling guilty about it?"_

 _"Akashi, go away. If this was your way to somehow convince me to cooperate with you and your sick mind games, well, it's not working." With a shaky breath, she stood up from her seat on the bench, the papers in her hand almost getting crumpled from being held too tightly. She handed it to him, who raised an eyebrow before accepting it. She watched as his face turned sour upon reading the document. She continued in a deadpan voice, "In fact, I was just about to take my leave. I'm done with this pathetic excuse for a team."_

 _"Coward," Akashi hissed after a moment's silence. "So you're just going to run away?"_

 _"It's not called_ runningaway _. It's —"_

 _She stopped mid-sentence when the red-head abruptly grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him. Kimiko was too shocked to try to pull away. Holding her chin, he brought their faces close — too close for her comfort. His lone golden eye glinted ominously as he murmured against the shell of her ear. "A-ku-mi...," he drawled, breaking up her name in syllables, "I don't want to hear anything about leaving or something remotely close to that. Is that clear?"_

 _There was an unspoken "Or else...", and although the threat was vague, it was enough to shake her conviction. Who knows what the red-haired captain will do to the club members. Akashi narrowed his eyes at her lack of response. Pulling away, he looked at her face and smirked when he saw doubt and fear cloud her pretty features._

 _Her answer was clear._

 _"Good thing that you understand the situation, Akumi," he purred in satisfaction, caressing her knuckles with his thumb. Her resignation letter lies on the floor, now rendered useless by the redhead. "Besides, where else should the empress be, if not by the emperor's side?"_

 _Unnoticed by the two, a certain vice-captain had been listening to them outside the door of the club room._

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— **日** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **31** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

Midorima woke early the next day, but it seems that he wasn't early enough. Already he could hear the hissing of oil coming from the open kitchen door, and the occasional faint bits of conversation from the two people manning the stove.

Maybe he shouldn't have worried too much.

He couldn't sleep well last night, as he couldn't stop worrying about Akashi and Kimiko. Not that he was worried for Kimiko's chastity — _Kami_ , no (but if it was the _other_ Akashi, he wouldn't trust him to go near the chartreusette much less let him be with Kimiko alone in a closed room). He just doesn't know what to expect from the two — thinking of today's events, he certainly didn't expect them to reconcile that quickly. Not that he doesn't want them to, but somehow, Midorima was expecting some yelling and tears, and he inwardly cursed Takao for giving him such ideas. They once had a discussion about how Akashi and Kimiko's reunion will turn out, and this was just one of the hawk-eyed boy's outrageous theories. Akashi was many things, but a drama actor he was not.

He fixed up his futon, careful not to wake up the others. Midorima decided to go to the kitchen to somehow help out in setting the table, which is the least he can do as he has absolutely no talent in cooking (the best he can do was fried rice and omelet), only to stop short at the door upon seeing the scene before him.

Akashi and Kimiko were standing side by side in front of the stove, with the chartreusette stirring the soup that she was cooking while the redhead was taking his time in observing her up close for the first time in a year.

"So, how have you been?"

At Akashi's question, Kimiko turned her head quickly, causing her side bangs to fall on her face, getting in the way of her sight. On reflex, Akashi reached out and brushed them away, tucking them carefully behind a pale ear. His fingers brushed her cheek lightly as he did so, and the contact sent a shiver down her spine. Kimiko blinked at their close proximity. Midorima was suddenly reminded how Akashi used to do that for her whenever she is too busy scribbling on her clipboard and can't be bothered to take a second to fix her hair, leaving Akashi to do it for her.

Kimiko turned back to her cooking, not wanting Akashi to see the blush that she knows is staining her cheeks. "...I was fine. How about you?"

However, instead of answering, Akashi lifted his hand and traced a line around her neck, making her freeze in her spot.

"I apologize," Akashi bit out, shoving his hand in his pocket. His eyes darkened for a moment before resuming their calm gaze.

"Seijuurou, there's no need to say—"

He cut her off with an apologetic gaze. "I am truly sorry for everything I've done to you in our last year in Teikou. I know I have treated you cruelly and as such, I don't even deserve your forgiveness." Akashi sighed, and looked away.

"Seijuurou," Kimiko paused, trying to find the words to say to him. "We've been over this last night, right?"

Akashi blinked, then lowered his head a bit. He chuckled a little. His gaze slid past her to the far wall behind her, then shrugged his shoulders as if in resignation. Kimiko gestured at something on the kitchen counter.

"...Why can't you at least be mad at me?" he said quietly, before moving to walk away to get the bowl of sliced green onions for her.

Kimiko followed him with a confused gaze and caught his sleeve in her hand, stopping Akashi from leaving. "Seijuurou —!"

Akashi was facing away from her, and so she didn't see his pained expression. She opened her mouth, then closed it again, not sure on what to say. Akashi shifted to face her, and Kimiko released her hold on his shirt. Another moment of staring in each other's eyes and Kimiko was forced to drop her gaze.

"Akumi…" she heard him say softly. "I really am sorry. For everything."

She looked up then, and she saw Akashi staring at her with a hurt expression, regret clear in his crimson orbs. It's not something that she expected to see or ever witness, and it made her feel uneasy.

Kimiko couldn't help but to sigh in frustration. "Seijuurou, just — I've already forgiven you! It's — It's..." She shook her head, mustering the courage to meet his bewildered gaze at her sudden outburst. She glared at him then. "Just accept that fact, okay?"

It was Akashi's turn to be surprised. "Akumi, if you don't remember, I..." Akashi felt his throat tighten. "I choked you and left you lying unconscious on the floor of Teikou's first string gym. Surely you haven't forgotten about that?" he asked, not quite understanding how Kimiko can just forgive that kind of action so easily. "It's why you resigned, isn't it?"

Her look became one of annoyance as she huffed at him. "Well, yes, it is. But it's not the sole reason why I left — it's one of many reasons I'd rather not enumerate. And it's not the main reason, either." She exhaled wearily. "So can we just drop that topic, already? I already accepted your apology — no matter how unnecessary it is — so can we just get over it? Like, really..."

"Then, why didn't you tell me that you were back here in Japan?" he asked.

"I didn't tell anyone!" Kimiko protested hotly. "I met them all by pure coincidence!"

"So you weren't planning to see us again?"

"I didn't say anything like that! Don't go putting words in my mouth!"

Akashi snorted. "It doesn't explain why I wasn't invited to this party planning session, though."

"It was supposed to be a surprise — for you and for Tetsuya! But no, you just have to go waltzing into my house and — wait," Kimiko stopped ranting, ignoring Akashi whose eyes widened the slightest bit when she mentioned that she was supposed to surprise him, and narrowed her eyes at him. "Seijuurou," she began, her voice tinged with suspicion. "Are you... Are you sulking?!"

 _Gotcha_ , she thought as Akashi pursed his lips and averted his gaze from her.

"I am not," he scoffed, though his tone suggests otherwise.

 _I thought Shintarou was the only tsundere we have._

"I wanted to see you," he continued. "Is that so bad?"

 _Or maybe not._

The way he said it brought memories of their first year in Teikou, memories of their petty arguments and nonsense fights, only his voice was a bit deeper, smoother.

"How did you know I'm back?" she asked in an accusing tone.

"Does that even matter?" Akashi shot back none too gently, a frown on his lips. Is his presence really that unwelcome now?

"...Seijuurou..." And the next thing he knew, pain erupted in his face as the girl mercilessly pinched his nose between her thumb and forefinger. He glared as the chartreusette let go, and he stepped back, rubbing his throbbing nose with the back of his hand. He doesn't have to look in the mirror to know that it was now bright red. Rudolph, anyone?

Akashi was glaring at her, but this was not a murderous one. "Was that necessary?" he complained, and as Kimiko's smile turned impish, something about his posture relaxed. It was in the slight movement of his shoulders and the way his eyes became a little softer, as if a great weight was lifted off from him.

In answer, Kimiko threw herself at him and hugged him tightly. "I missed you, Seijuurou," she said, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Aa," the redhead replied, returning her embrace, ignoring the pain in his nose. He pressed his face in her lime-green tresses and smiled, inhaling her familiar scent. "It seems that I've missed you, too."

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"Akumicchi, I want milk! Do you have milk?" It was breakfast time, and everyone was gathered in the dining table. Even in early morning, Kise was as hyperactive as usual as he trailed behind the chartreusette who was carrying the plates of _onigiri_ to the table. "Ah, I haven't greeted Kasamatsu-senpai a good morning!" He whipped out his phone and typed away.

 _Is it just me, or Kise looks like a puppy?_ Kagami thought. The trio had arrived at six in the morning — during which time Aomine and Murasakibara were still snoring their way in dreamland.

"Shin-chan, did you sleep well?" Takao asked the ever-sullen Midorima, before handing him his lucky item for the day, which was a carrot plushie, by the way. Midorima's mood visibly brightened, even though his response to Takao was not.

"I didn't ask you to get this for me." Which in Midorima-speak can be translated along the lines of _Thank_ _you_.

To which the hawk-eyed boy laughed and said cheerily, "You're welcome, Shin-chan!"

"Dai-chan, don't sleep on the dining table!"

"...Satsuki."

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

"Why, you —" and Momoi whacked him hard on the back of the head — hard enough to bang his forehead on the wooden surface.

"ITAI!"

"Mine-chin, you're too noisy~" _Munch, munch_. "Muro-chin, where are my snacks?"

"Atsushi, it's too early for snacks. Besides, we are about to eat breakfast," the dark-haired beauty chided.

"Hmm, if Muro-chin says so~"

Kimiko, who was just about to sit down, was surprised at Himuro's ability to keep Murasakibara in line without bribing him with snacks. Akashi, who was seated beside her, saw her looking at the pair curiously. A small smile that was oddly happy and sad at the same time graced her lips.

"You look like a proud mother watching her child making its first steps of independence into the world," Akashi murmured beside her.

Kimiko broke out of her musings and shook her head at the redhead in disbelief. "You say the oddest things sometimes."

Akashi glanced at the rest of their friends and allowed a tiny smile to show on his face. He remembered a conversation he once had with the chartreusette during their second year in Teiko before they won their second InterHigh championship.

 _"What are you frowning about, Akumi?" Akashi asked the girl on their way to the gates of Teiko Middle School. The rest of the team had gone home earlier, leaving the two of them behind as they had to attend the monthly meeting of all the clubs in Teiko. "Is this about the incident with Kise earlier?"_

 _"Partly," she replied with a sigh. It had been months since Kise's promotion as a regular, yet a lot of members still find it hard to accept the blond into the club. As she had explained to them countless of times, Kise was given the starting position not because of his skill, but because of his potential. Right now, the blond model was like a diamond in the rough, just waiting to be polished._

 _Sadly, they fail to see it like she and Akashi did._

 _Akashi waited for her to elaborate on her one-word reply. They walked in silence and she suggested that they take a detour and go to a nearby park, to which Akashi agreed. When Kimiko decided to stop and sit on the grass beside the central pond in the park, the redhead tried to refuse at first, but a tug on his hand had him kneeling on the spot beside her. She tossed a few stones in the water, creating small ripples that gradually vanished to nothing._

 _"Ne, Seijuurou..."_

 _"Hm?"_

 _"Have you ever thought about high school?"_

 _Akashi's answer was immediate in coming, although the way he said it lacks any form of joy or excitement. "Of course. I'm headed for Rakuzan High."_

 _"...So you're going back to Kyoto..."_

 _"Why?"_

 _However, the girl continued talking as if she didn't hear his question. "I guess yours was expected, after all, Rakuzan is an elite school... Nothing to be worried about, but as for the others..."_

 _"You're worried for their future."_

 _She rolled her golden eyes at him for stating the obvious. "Of course I am. Aren't you as well?"_

 _Teikou's captain chuckled lightly. "What are we — their parents?" This prompted the girl beside him to punch him lightly on the shoulder._

 _"Seijuurou!"_

 _He turned serious. "Of course, I am. I admit, everyone of us is quite... special, and dealing with each requires understanding of said person, which is quite a hard task given each individual's... unique personalities."_

 _She nodded in agreement. "It's not that they are that bad — it's just..."_

 _"It's just?" he prodded as the chartreusette trailed off._

 _"You know how they are... When we go our separate ways...," she said, letting herself fall back to the grass beneath her, not caring if she will get dirty or what. Her bag served as her pillow. She held up a hand to the darkening sky. "Shintarou and his obsession with Oha-Asa is sure to make him the object of ridicule in the worst case scenario. He's tendency to be a tsundere is a problem also — what if his teammates are total jerks who don't know how to read between the lines? Daiki — he is too good for his age... What if he strike his teammates as too arrogant? God knows how insensitive he becomes to other people's feelings when he's on the court... Atsushi — you know what happens when he doesn't get his daily dose of sweets and — what if his teammates find out about his weakness to food? What if they bribe him just to make fun of him or order him around? Tetsuya — well, you know Tetsuya — he's our sixth man, our phantom player... He has no game record, and only we knows of his existence. What if his teammates are idiots who can't utilize his abilities properly? What if he can't find a proper light? Worse, what if they can't 'see' him? And Ryouta — his overly cheerful nature makes it hard to take him seriously at times... His being a model also makes matters worse — girls might use him as some sort of a status symbol or what... And there's that damn insecurity of his; he always sees himself as inferior to the rest of you guys..." She sighed, closing her hand into a fist and bringing it down to her stomach. To her surprise, Akashi laid himself beside her. "Hey, your clothes will —!"_

 _"No one is going to complain," he said, totally unconcerned about the state of his uniform. His father has no way of knowing about it anyway, what with him staying in Kyoto. Here in Tokyo, he can have all the freedom he want — but still within the acceptable limits for an Akashi heir like him. Steering the conversation back to their original topic, he said, "I've thought about it too. It is inevitable but that doesn't mean that I'm fine with it."_

 _Kimiko's tone was wistful. "It would've been great if we can go to the same high school together. No doubt about it — we will be the best team in all of Japan!"_

 _It was a future that can never be. Akashi knows that. And so, as the two waited for the night to set in, he consoled her by saying that instead of thinking of the future, they should focus on the present and make the most of it._

 _"Aa, you're right, Seijuurou."_

 _"Of course."_

"Everyone had found a new family in their present teams. It seems that our worrying was unnecessary."

"Hmm...? Akashicchi, Akumicchi, what are you talking about?" Kise suddenly asked, and the two was made aware that everyone was waiting for them to start breakfast.

"Nothing, Ryouta..." crooned the chartreusette. "Let's eat — _Itadakimasu_!"

The rest followed suit. " _Itadakimasu_!" they chorused before digging in, eating their breakfast enthusiastically as they prepared for the day ahead of them.

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Akashi had gone to many parties before, but not to this particular kind of party, though. It was only in Teiko that the young heir first experienced such an informal party — one that was organized by Kimiko for their then captain Nijimura. It was loud, it was messy, but it was undoubtedly an enjoyable one. It was nothing compared to what he was used to, where people wore expensive suits and dresses, trying to impress everyone with all their fancy jewelries and boring talks of their riches and accomplishments, where money was the constant topic, with people talking behind other's backs to secure their place in the hierarchy, and the list goes on and on. Compare that to Kimiko's version of party which involved some loud music and icing thrown all over the floor of the school's rooftop, and the difference is as plain as night and day.

So it was those things that drifted in Akashi's mind as he leaned against the railing of Kimiko's veranda, a glass of harmless fruit juice in his hand instead of his usual goblet of wine. He took a sip of the cold pineapple drink, staring at the darkening skies above. Inside, loud music blared amidst the laughter and chatter of his friends.

He smiled, remembering the day's events. It started out as a simple invitation to an after-lunch game of streetball — Kimiko emailed Kuroko to go to the court near her apartment, to which the teal-head unknowingly followed, only to be surprised when he saw everyone gathered there. Being the basketball-loving idiots they are, the boys played basketball until dusk. Momoi served as the referee while Kimiko filled as the tenth member, completing the two five-man teams. Akashi, Kimiko, Murasakibara, Himuro, and Midorima is Team One; Kuroko, Kagami, Aomine, Kise, and Takao as Team Two. After a series of matches, Team One emerged as the victor, but it doesn't matter much as they just wanted to enjoy playing the sport that they all loved with everybody. Kimiko also took a lot of pictures and had Momoi in charge to get them printed. When Kuroko thought that it was the end of their birthday surprise for him, Aomine whipped out a piece of cloth and with Kise and Kagami's help, they blindfolded the phantom player and led him to Kimiko's apartment, where a party awaits him. As Kuroko took off the blindfold, popping noises rang out and a shower of rainbow confetti greeted his wide sky-blue eyes as Momoi presented the vanilla cake that she had baked that morning under the careful eyes of Kimiko and Murasakibara, with the words "Happy Birthday, Kuroko Tetsuya" written in Akashi's flowing cursive. Everyone sang the birthday song, with a certain chartreusette playing the guitar in the background. After Kuroko blew out all the sixteen candles, the cake was set aside for a moment as everyone gathered their gifts to give them to him.

Kise gave Kuroko a sky-blue sweater that matched his hair, while Aomine's gift was a pair of basketball shoes with blue designs. Murasakibara gave him several coupons to a famous patisserie downtown that serves delicious vanilla-flavored cakes (and vanilla milkshakes as well), while Midorima gave him a gift certificate to a bookstore. Kagami's gift was a pair of shoes as well, resulting in a glaring contest with Kuroko's former light. Himuro and Takao each gave him shirts that fitted him nicely. Kimiko presented him with the complete collection of Natsume Soseki's books, knowing that Soseki was Kuroko's favorite Japanese author, while Akashi decided that a _yukata_ in a rich indigo color with _koi_ fish designs is a fitting birthday gift to the phantom. And last but not the least, Momoi came quietly forward with her gift, which upon opening revealed a long blue scarf that she had personally knitted for Kuroko. Her cheeks blushed a beautiful shade of pink when the tealhead thanked her for it, and even went as far as wrapping it around his neck just to try it out. Momoi couldn't have been more happier.

Dinner followed, and it was loud and noisy, but Akashi wouldn't have it any other way. After that, the games followed, facilitated by none other than Kise himself. On Kimiko's insistence, Akashi participated in a some of them, but most of the time he was content with just watching them from the sidelines. However, Akashi's ears can only tolerate as much noise so here he was, cooling off in the balcony while the others continued with their merrymaking.

"Akashi-kun," a voice said behind him and he turned to see the birthday celebrant approaching him, a childish birthday hat perched atop his head. "Why don't you join us inside?"

Akashi moved over, prompting Kuroko to come over to the spot beside him. With his back to the cold metal, he took a sip of his pineapple juice. "Kuroko," he said in acknowledgment. "I was just taking a break. The music is too loud for my preference."

"Kise-kun turned up the volume too much," Kuroko said in agreement.

"Aa."

The bluenette then smiled at him. "Akashi-kun, thank you for celebrating today with everyone. I know that you have a very busy schedule, not to mention that you had to come all the way from Kyoto, so I just want you to know that I really appreciate your coming here for my birthday."

"You didn't have to thank me that much," Akashi remarked calmly after Kuroko finished his heartfelt expression of his gratitude. "I hope you liked my gift."

The bluenette shifted uneasily. "Ah, about that..."

Akashi raised an eyebrow at him. "Yes?"

"Akashi-kun shouldn't have bothered giving me such an extravagant gift. Judging by the _yukata_ 's quality, I'm sure that it must have cost a lot."

Akashi only smirked. "It would look very nice on you, anyway."

Kuroko can only sigh and smile lightly at his former captain. He has to admit, the _yukata_ 's colors compliments his hair and his pale skin tone very well. "Thank you for your gift, Akashi-kun. I really liked it, though you don't have to spend a fortune just for a mere gift."

"You're welcome, Kuroko.

"You're going to stay here a little longer?" Kuroko asked after a moment of comfortable silence between them. He gestured inside.

Akashi was about to nod his head when he caught a glimpse of lime-green through the door. Kuroko followed his gaze.

"Akumi-san and Himuro-kun seems to be quite close," he stated, carefully watching Akashi's reactions.

Akashi made a vague nodding gesture to the door, through which he could see the chartreusette laughing merrily at something the dark-haired boy told her. Himuro leaned forward to whisper in her ear, and he saw her eyes widen for a moment before elbowing him lightly.

"Does she know him well?" he asked Kuroko casually, his eyes watching them intently with an almost predatory gaze.

"I don't know but Akumi-san seems to be quite fond of Himuro-kun," Kuroko replied. "Apparently, Himuro-kun helped Akumi-san beat a couple of thugs who tried messing with her."

"I see," was all the redhead said in response, eyes narrowing even more.

"I'm sure that Akumi-san only sees Himuro-kun as a friend," Kuroko said in his usual deadpan way, and Akashi closed his eyes briefly, and when he next opened them, he turned to the bluenette with a mild glare. That small twinkle of mischief in those sky-blue orbs made him feel slightly irritated.

"Akumi-san has always been a popular one," Kuroko continued, eyes lighting up at the memory. "Her terrible temper and sadistic nature aside, she is an extremely likable person. She may be quite intimidating at times, but it's different once you get to know her. She's so outgoing and cheerful, but she knows when to get serious. She's extremely loyal and protective of her friends, and once you gained her approval, she'll be your friend for life."

Akashi found himself agreeing with Kuroko's words. He wasn't surprised though; Kuroko has always been perceptive when it comes to such matters. He swirled the juice in his cup, and was about to make his own remark about Kimiko when Momoi approached them — Kuroko, to be exact.

"Tetsu-kun! There you are!" The pinkette exclaimed with a pout on her lips. "Come on, the next game is starting and I need a partner!"

"Momoi-san," Kuroko said, then pointed at the redhead beside him, "I was just talking to Akashi-kun here."

Momoi blinked, having not noticed Akashi, which was mainly because she was too focused on Kuroko to see anyone else. "Oh, Akashi-kun! Sorry for not seeing you right away!"

"It's alright, Momoi."

"Hmm, you want to join the Tomato Dance, Akashi-kun?" Momoi asked.

He shook his head. "I think I'll pass."

Momoi nodded before walking over and snaking her arm around Kuroko's arm and leading him back inside. He watched them vanish through the door before turning back to look up at the skies.

A few minutes passed and another presence made its way to Akashi's refuge.

"Akashi."

"Midorima," Akashi replied, not even turning to face the green-head. When Midorima didn't say anything else, he asked, "Why are you here?"

Midorima mirrored Akashi's position and gazed upwards to the sky, where stars are slowly appearing one by one. "I got eliminated from the game."

Akashi raised an eyebrow at him. "You joined the Tomato Dance?"

"Takao forced me to."

Akashi did not believe him, though.

Midorima paused for a minute, a scowl on his face at Akashi's flat look. "The idiot doesn't stop until he gets what he wants," he complained, trying to defend himself.

"Is that so," Akashi remarked smoothly, making Midorima click his tongue in annoyance.

"Why are you out here, though?" Midorima asked then, changing the topic immediately. "Kise has been looking for you to make Akumi persuade you to join in his stupid games."

At the mention of the chartreusette, Akashi's eye twitched slightly, which Midorima had unfortunately noticed. The green-haired shooting guard furrowed his eyebrows in suspicion. Even more so when all Akashi said was a slightly sarcastic "Really."

Midorima turned and looked over to the people inside. There was Kimiko standing close to Himuro as they balanced a tomato between their foreheads as they danced carefully to a random pop song. Now that he thought about it, since Murasakibara was too lazy to play, Himuro had been asking for either Kimiko or Kagami to be his partner when it came to pair games. Ever since Akashi had left the room, Himuro had been staying close to their former coach-slash-manager.

"She's playing with Murasakibara's teammate," Midorima commented offhandedly.

Akashi turned quickly and glared at him, before searching for the chartreusette, who was currently in Himuro's arms. To his irritation, Kise had changed the song from a pop song to a ballad, whose lyrics was about a guy eventually falling in love with his girl bestfriend, and Akashi had to watch his closest friend having a slow dance with Himuro. The scene would have been totally romantic if not for that red fruit between their faces.

"Seems like Akumi is getting closer with that Himuro," Midorima said. "They've been pairing up in the games more often."

Akashi felt a slight twinge of irritation once again. "Kuroko told me the same thing earlier," he replied casually. "Akumi can befriend anyone she wants — it's not our business to intervene. We're not in middle school anymore."

"Aren't you worried?" Midorima asked, expecting a different answer from his former captain.

Akashi looked at him with dangerously narrowed eyes. "Why should I, Midorima?"

"You already know why," Midorima answered, looking at him with a perceptive look, "We've known each other for three years — there's no way we wouldn't notice."

Akashi didn't answer, but it was enough for Midorima.

"To be honest, I am still hesitant to let her near you — after what you did to her, I can't help but feel that way. However, there is no denying that you are an important person to Kimiko; maybe even more than we thought." Midorima shrugged. "It would only be fair if you treat her the way she treats you."

"Is that a threat?" Akashi asked with a bit of venom in his words.

"Only a warning, Akashi, and not from me. People tend to know the value of something only after it is gone." Midorima looked at the pair before them. "You wouldn't want that to happen a second time."

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It was getting late in the evening, and Kimiko was starting to feel exhausted. After going toe-to-toe with the guys in a basketball game earlier, then joining in all of Kise's mini-games, there was no way that she wouldn't feel tired. The Tomato Dance had been the last game, and the people around her were just walking around, casually chatting with one another or in Murasakibara's case, was busy finishing the rest of the food. Aomine and Kagami was also at the table stuffing their mouths with her homemade spaghetti.

She hummed along to the tune of Matsushita Yuya's "See You" as she scanned the room for that familiar shade of crimson. She saw Kise and Takao huddled in a corner, seemingly planning a prank on someone based on the looks on their faces, Kuroko and Momoi talking about something pleasant given the smiles on their lips, Midorima sitting quietly on the couch sipping his favorite _oshiruko_ , and Himuro manning the sound system, giving her a wink when he saw her looking at him, then played the next song, which happened to be One Ok Rock's "Wherever You Are."

She approached Midorima on the couch. "Hey, you know where Seijuurou is?"

"Out there," he replied, gesturing to her veranda.

Kimiko sighed as she went outside, immediately spotting Akashi who was looking up at the starry skies above. Music flowed through her open door. She smiled to herself as she observed his figure that was almost a silhouette in the darkness outside. Inwardly, she was wondering how the redhead can make something like lazily leaning on the railings of her porch look so regal and elegant. Akashi always had that aura of perfection around him, and it was one of those traits that Kimiko had always admired in him.

"Hey," she called out to him, and when Akashi didn't so much as look at her or gave indication that he heard her, Kimiko frowned and went over beside him. "Seijuurou," she said, poking his arm with every syllable of his name.

"What do you want, Akumi?" he asked, still looking at something in the distance.

She crossed her arms and huffed, slightly miffed at his cold answer. "Why are you so grouchy?"

"I'm not grouchy," he retorted, and Kimiko raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Really," she remarked, rolling her golden eyes at him. "You're worse than Uncle Scrooge. So who did something to you this time?"

"Try asking that to yourself," Akashi said sarcastically, surprising Kimiko.

"What? What did I do to you this time?!"

This time, Akashi faced her and met her gaze. He raised a finger as if to enumerate. "You've been ignoring me all evening. That's reason number one."

"I'm not ignoring you! It was you who was ignoring me!"

"...Hmm?" He crossed his arms across his chest.

"Ugh, you're soooo unbelievable," Kimiko sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat. "Come on, let's — Seijuurou, what do you think you're doing?"

Akashi had suddenly grabbed her towards him, and she ended falling forward, her face meeting his solid chest. She noted absently that he was still using the same perfume, and then blushed when Akashi laughed lightly when he caught her sniffing his clothes. She looked up at him and Akashi smirked and said, "Dance with me."

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	19. 第19章

**Author's Note:** Minor timeline adjustments.

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **19** **章**

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— **日** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **1** **月** **30** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

How Akashi managed to make her dance with him, Kimiko doesn't know how, but somehow, she hadn't stepped on his foot so far. The redhead was telling her to just follow the rhythm of the song, but it was his skill in guiding her that enabled her to dance with him without hurting any of his body parts. He was holding Kimiko the way she remembered when they were having dance classes in Teiko — his right hand on her waist, his left holding her hand. They were turning and swaying slowly in graceful circles, and Kimiko was staring at him in mild confusion while Akashi was busy watching her feet.

"You're getting the hang of it," he said to her, looking up at her face with a smug smile on his lips. "It's not that hard isn't it?"

The way he said it seemed like deja vu to her. Her thoughts went back to that New Year Festival that Akashi had invited her to when they were in second year.

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 _The Kiseki no Sedai had agreed to come to the festival together; however, having different preferences on what to do during the said event, the team decided to part ways to do what they want, under the condition that they will have to gather up near the ferris wheel in time for the fireworks display. And so it went, with Momoi asking Kuroko to come with her, while Kise was challenging Aomine in random games. Midorima was playing as well, for the sole purpose of collecting random items that might serve as his lucky item one day, and Murasakibara, of course, was on his food hunt._

 _That leaves Kimiko with Akashi._

 _The two were just wandering aimlessly around, looking at the booths that catch their attention. Kimiko even roped Akashi in buying cotton candy and managed to convince him to try and eat it. The sight of Akashi holding a stick of the fluffy pink food amused Kimiko to no end._

 _And so it was that they passed by a photo booth and Kimiko's eyes immediately brightened. Dragging Akashi with her, she went over to the man operating the booth._

 _"Uhm, excuse me, can we —"_

 _The man looked up at her and smiled pleasantly. He pointed to his camera. "A picture with your boyfriend, young lady?"_

 _Kimiko blushed in spite of herself. Most of the time, she was unaffected with such comments since most of Teikou - if not the whole population - thinks that she and Akashi are together._

 _She held up her hands. "Uhm, we're not —" She laughed nervously and glanced surreptitiously at Akashi, who spoke at the same time as her._

 _"Yes, we would like to," he said, a smile on his lips, not saying anything to deny the man's assumptions about their relationship. They'd known each other for almost two years and had become pretty close with one another. They were classmates, seatmates, and most importantly, clubmates — plus, they walk home together — there's no way they wouldn't become close friends in just a short period of time which only fueled the rumors about the two of them. Most assumed that they were together or something like that, only for Kimiko to deny everything while Akashi does not give a damn to what other people say about them. Their interactions with one another though seems to be the complete opposite of what Kimiko wants others to believe them to be._

 _"You two look very nice together. A perfect match, ne?" He gestured to the backdrop for the photo. It was a Tokyo horizon with multi-colored fireworks gracing the sky. "If you can please stand over there."_

 _"Akumi," Akashi said, taking her hand. Kimiko turned to him, uncharacteristically flustered as she tried to free herself from him._

 _"But Seijuurou, we're not-" she started once more, trying hard to hide her reddening cheeks from him._

 _The corner of Akashi's lips curled in amusement. He hummed as he raised an eyebrow at her. "Let's just have our picture taken, Akumi."_

 _"...Okay."_

 _"Good," Akashi looked oddly satisfied and she allowed the redhead to lead her in front of the backdrop._

 _"Take your pose," the photographer said, gesturing at them to move closer to one another. Kimiko followed hesitantly._

 _"Miss, smile a little brighter," the man said, peeking out from behind the camera. "You look like a dental patient," he added jokingly._

 _Akashi chuckled lightly, making Kimiko to huff at him. "Akumi, relax. It's just a picture. It's not like we haven't taken one before."_

 _"Well..."_

 _Without warning, Akashi looped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. He leaned down to murmur in her ear. "Smile, Akumi."_

 _And despite the wild beating of her heart, Kimiko smiled._

 _"That's better," the man commented as Akashi straightened up before the flash went off._

 _"They'll be ready in about ten minutes. Both of you will be taking a copy?" the photographer asked as the two approached him._

 _"Yes, we will," the redhead replied as he paid for the photos. "We will return once they are ready."_

 _The man nodded, and Akashi once again led Kimiko away as they looked for something to do as they waited for the photos to be developed. He must have noticed her silence because he asked her if she was alright._

 _"I'm fine, I'm fine," she said without looking up at him. Thus she didn't see the mischievous glint in his ruby eyes as he gazed at something up ahead. He nudged her lightly with his elbow, and she turned her head to look at him with questioning eyes._

 _"How about a dance, Akumi?"_

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She shook her head slowly, eyes slightly in a daze. Her heart was racing in her chest, and she was hoping that the redhead in front of her will not notice it. She always wondered why the redhead always affect her this way. Lost in her musings, she didn't notice the way Akashi looked at her almost longingly. He pulled her closer then, holding her against his chest. She gasped in surprise, but she did not try to pull away.

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 _Kimiko had her arms around Akashi's neck while he had his arms round her waist, hands resting above the small of her back. The two of them were idly swaying in slow circles to a wordless tune, their faces peaceful and content._

 _"What are you thinking?" Kimiko asked, looking up at Akashi who was staring at her quietly for some time now, and it was starting to make her feel a bit uncomfortable and self-conscious._

 _"...Nothing," he replied softly, shaking his head._

 _"You look like you were thinking of something very important," Kimiko said, tilting her head to look at him. "If you have a problem, you know that I am always here to help you. You also have the team. Remember that, okay?"_

 _He touched his forehead to hers affectionately, "I know, I know."_

 _"Hmp. You always say that, though I wonder if you even mean it," she said teasingly, "You're the type who prefers to keep things to themselves. Seijuurou," she pinched his cheek lightly, "Asking for help isn't always a sign of weakness. It takes great courage to admit that some things cannot be done by yourself all alone, thus the need to ask help from other people around you."_

 _Akashi looked dumbfounded for a short while, and his hold on her tightened._

 _"Arigatou," he murmured to her, his lips next to her ear. "It means a lot to me."_

 _She said nothing to that, instead, she hugged him tighter, her cheek resting on his shoulder. There was nothing more to say, and she was sure that Akashi knows that as well._

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 _The appointed time came and the group had gathered together to ride the gigantic ferris wheel to witness the fireworks display from above. Everyone had paired up on who they were going to be with in each car — Kuroko and Momoi, Aomine and Kise, Murasakibara and Midorima, Akashi and Kimiko._

 _The ride was slow but absolutely thrilling, and when the clock struck twelve, the ferris wheel paused, with Akashi and Kimiko's car at the topmost point, just as the first of the fireworks soared up to the sky, exploding in a brilliant shade of red and gold._

 _Akashi was gazing out the window, admiring the brilliant display outside. Beside him, Kimiko smiled gently to herself. Lately, Akashi had been looking not so well, and she was perceptive enough to figure out that he was having some sort of an argument with his father, something that concerns him being a basketball player in Teiko. He didn't tell her about it, but Kimiko had accidentally overheard his conversation with his father's secretary over the phone. She knew it was not her place to talk to him about it, but taking it out of his mind, even just temporarily, was the least that she could do. She perfectly knows how Akashi treasured and loved the sport, something about it being reminiscent of his late mother — a fact that she had learned from one of their customary chats on their way home. She squeezed his hand instinctively, and he returned the gesture, as they both watched the night sky lit up with fireworks._

 _"Akumi," he said, his voice loud and clear above the noise, "Will you promise me one thing?"_

 _Surprised at his sudden request, Kimiko nodded her head. "Sure. What is it?"_

 _His face that she saw that time was one that she could never forget — how Akashi's eyes gleamed like rubies in the flashing lights. Gold met crimson as another firework exploded like a thousand little stars, and asked one thing that she absolutely did not expect him to ask from her._

 _"Can you promise me that you will never leave me?"_

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"What are you thinking?" Akashi asked, his eyes on the moon hanging just above the horizon. That question was always the norm between the two of them, almost a form of endearment, because even though they can fully understand each other without words most of the time, sometimes they wanted the other to speak their thoughts out loud.

"Hm." Kimiko looked up. They both stared at the starry sky.

"Seijuurou."

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry, too," Kimiko whispered, slowly closing her eyes to prevent the tears from falling.

He angled his head downwards. He was certainly confused. "I don't think I understand where you're getting at with that statement."

She heaved a sigh.

"Akumi."

"What?" she replied, raising her head slightly to look at him. Akashi's expression is serious.

"Explain."

Kimiko blinked at his order. "Explain what? I —" A flick at the forehead stopped her from going further.

"Why are you apologizing?"

The girl looked to the floor guiltily. "I'm not blameless for whatever happened back then, Seijuurou. I know you're feeling responsible over it — but it's also my fault. As Coach Shirogane's replacement, I focused too much on securing our victory and paid no attention to everything else. I wanted to make all of you the strongest players — but I failed to factor in the fact that you were supposed to be a team. I didn't realize how such power would affect everyone until it was too late. I admit, it gave me satisfaction to see how everyone looks at us like we were a different kind, someone above their station — someone that is worshiped, revered. I wanted our team to leave a mark in the basketball world. It was an ambition that I gave so much to achieve, only for it to spin out of control. In short, everything... Everything started from me. I was —"

"Akumi, stop blaming yourself," Akashi interrupted, unable to listen any longer. _How could she even say such things?_

"But —"

"Akumi."

"..."

"It was nobody's fault."

Kimiko sighed softly. How can Akashi fail to understand it? As if reading her thoughts, he added, "You've forgiven us already; I guess it's time for you to forgive yourself as well." Kimiko blinked, remembering that this was what she told Murasakibara as well. She nodded. "If you can give forgiveness to someone who doesn't deserve it, then at the very least, you can try to forgive yourself."

She smiled. A sweet smile that almost made his heart ache.

"Seijuurou..?" she asked quietly, feeling a bit conscious due to their current position. His scent was slowly intoxicating her, but it never failed to make her feel safe and secure.

"Akumi, don't leave me again," he whispered, his breath tickling her skin and sending a shiver down her spine. It sounded like a fervent, almost desperate wish. Kimiko shifted her arms and embraced him tightly, burying her face in the comforting warmth of his chest.

"No, I won't," she replied quietly, just as she had years ago, "I will never leave you. Ever."

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"Muro-chin, what are you looking at?" Murasakibara asked his partner, who had been silently standing by himself in front of a wooden drawer in the corner of the room. "Ah, Kumi-chin really liked taking pictures," he said when he saw what had caught Himuro's attention. They were pictures of Kimiko and the Kiseki no Sedai from middle school.

A smile played on his face as he recalled the times when those pictures were taken. He looked at the one in Himuro's hand. It was a framed collage of pictures, all of which are composed of eight middle schoolers dressed in _yukatas_. "That was during the Summer Festival in our sophomore year in Teiko."

"You all look very happy in these pictures," Himuro noted, to which Murasakibara nodded happily before enthusiastically narrating the story behind each photo.

The photos were arranged in a 2x2 grid, with a single photo in the center — making it five photos all in all. There was the one with all of them gathered at the shrine as they made their offerings, the other with Akashi and Kimiko seated at a low table in what looks like a _shogi_ tournament, while the other was of Momoi hugging a grotesque-looking teddy bear with Kuroko, Aomine, and Kise beside her. Then there was one of Murasakibara and Midorima playing a hoop-throwing game in one of the booths. The center photo was of everyone gathered around as they smiled for the camera. Colorful fireworks were in full bloom in the background. Murasakibara, as expected, was holding a cotton candy, Midorima was with his lucky item for the day (which happened to be a statue of Buddha), Aomine was smirking smugly while Kise had on a cheerful smile, arms round each others' shoulders. In front of them, Kuroko and Momoi were holding sparklers, the phantom openly smiling though not as bright as that of the pinkette beside him. Then there was Akashi and Kimiko, dressed in _yukatas_ that contrasted each other like night and day yet perfectly in harmony with each other. Akashi's _yukata_ was of pure white cloth with golden dragon designs, while Kimiko had on a midnight black _yukata_ designed with the crimson flames of the phoenix. The redhead was smiling contentedly while the chartreusette had a mischievously sweet smile on her lips.

To Himuro, the photos showed what was once a very beautiful friendship, although he doesn't miss the fact that Kimiko seemed to be always near Rakuzan's captain.

Before he could comment on that, Takao popped out beside him with a grin on his face. "Waah, look at that! So Shin-chan also wears _yukata_ to festivals!"

Shutoku's ace, who happened to be passing by on his way to the kitchen for another can of _oshiruko_ , stopped in his tracks when he heard Takao spouting yet something about him. He was about to whack the oblivious hawk-eyed boy in the back of the head when he happened to see the frame in Himuro's hand. "So Kimiko still kept them, after all," he couldn't help muttering, thinking that the girl had at least shoved them in the back of her closet, never to see the light of day again after she left them for France.

Takao's question shook him from his reminiscing. "Ne, I wonder who won?" he asked, pointing at the picture with Midorima and Murasakibara in it.

Yosen's center opened his mouth to answer, only to close it at Midorima's death glare from behind Takao. Takao prodded him for a reply, not expecting to get hit in the head in return. The dark-haired boy doesn't even have to look to know who did it. "I was only asking! You don't have to hit me that hard, Shin-chan!"

"It's because you're too annoying, Takao," came Midorima's voice, and Takao can't help but smirk.

"I knew it! You lost to Murasakibara that time, am I right?"

"Eh? How did you know that, Taka-chin?" Murasakibara said, unknowingly confirming Takao's guess, much to Midorima's anger.

Himuro can only sigh to himself. _Atsushi never learns._

While the three continued with their bickering, another person decided to join them. Kise grabbed another frame from the top of the drawer, containing yet another photo collage arranged like the one of the summer festival.

"I remember this! This was our second summer camp in Akashicchi's summer villa!" which explains their choice of clothing.

"I can hear you all the way from here!" Aomine's protest at Kise's loudness can be heard from the kitchen, where he and Kagami was still eating.

The blond model tossed his head back as he yelled out, "Aominecchi, come here, I've something to show you!"

"I don't care!"

"Aominecchi, don't be so mean!"

Momoi, who was helping Kuroko pack up his gifts in preparation for their departure soon, got curious at Kise's words. "Ki-chan, what is it that you want to show to Dai-chan?"

Kise turned to her and grinned, waving the frame to beckon them over. "Momoicchi, Kurokocchi, over here!"

"That was during our second year, isn't it?" Kuroko asked, unable to tear his eyes away from the photo. "The one after we went to Hawaii"

"Hm-mm!" Momoi confirmed, eyes sparkling with excitement. She was thinking of asking Kimiko to have a copy of that picture with her and Kuroko playing beach volleyball. "I wonder if we can go there again sometime?"

"We can ask Akashi-kun, if it's not too much of a hassle..."

"I bet that's where he took his team last year for summer camp," Kise said with a hint of envy.

"They were lucky," Momoi said in agreement. Kuroko only nodded.

"Say, where are those two by the way?" Kise suddenly asked, looking around the room in search of their two leaders.

"Last I checked, Akashi-kun was out in the balcony."

"Akumi-san is probably with him, too," Kuroko added knowingly.

"I'll go and call them!" and without another word, Kise dashed off to the direction of the balcony.

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Ever since he started going to school, Kise had always been popular due to his extremely good looks. Never mind the fact that he was not really that smart — he made up for it by being a brilliant player in every sport he joined in. He was charming, easy to get along with, although he tends to be loud and a bit childish at times. The girls doesn't mind that, of course. In fact, that made him more adorable and all in their eyes.

His popularity increased to a nationwide level when he started modeling on his sister's encouragement. The photographers loved him, the media loved him, and just about every female loved him.

Except one.

Before he joined Teikou's basketball club, he used to be the top in whatever sports club he was in. Because of that, Kise became disillusioned and bored of his life. As he learned more and more about life, he soon found out that not everyone is sincere towards others. Girls approach him not because they truly loved him, but to use him as some sort of a status symbol, as bragging rights. Boys befriend him for the same reasons also. Thus, as young as he is, Kise grew distrustful of his fellow human beings. Also, he became pressured in his modeling job. His old manager kept on blabbering about him to be careful with everything so as not to harm his reputation and all that blah blah blah... To the point that he got sick of it. As time pass, Kise felt less like a human — and more like a puppet.

Until he met Kimiko Akumi.

Being a part of the modeling industry, not to mention the fact that he has two sisters who are also models, Kise has seen a lot of people who are considered to be beautiful in the highest sense of the word. Thus he did not expect himself to be rendered speechless when he first laid eyes on Teiko's assistant coach.

 _Kise was wandering in the school grounds after class, having no club activity to participate in since he was still undecided about it. He passed by some boys from his class on their way to the gym, and they were talking noisily about the assistant coach of Teikou's basketball team. He paid no attention to them, though, and continued with his loitering._

 _As he rounded a corner of the administration building, he didn't notice the girl that was running towards him, her eyes focused on the sheet of paper in her hands instead of the path before her, muttering all the while about being late and getting ready for her punishment later._

 _There was a crash as the two collided, but thankfully Kise's reflexes was fast enough to grab her wrist and pull her towards him to prevent her from falling to the hard pavement below. He heard her muffled yelp as her face collided with his chest._

 _"Are you...okay? -Eh?" Being the gentleman he is, Kise asked for her condition first, only to blink in surprise when he saw the color of her hair._ Who in the world actually has chartreuse hair?

 _The girl pulled away, and he found bright golden eyes looking straight at him. "Yes, I'm fine... Sorry, I'm in a hurry — shit, I'm gonna be late!" The girl exclaimed, before dashing off. "Sorry again!" she yelled, turning to him before completely vanishing from his sight. Kise can only stare at the direction that she had gone to, completely speechless._

 _Porcelain skin, long eyelashes, gold eyes, a finely sculptured nose, pink lips, and that unique yellow-green hair..._

 _Not even the word 'beautiful' can describe her fully._

 _To Kise's eyes, the girl who'd bumped into him just moments ago was like Aphrodite herself, the goddess of beauty._

 _Oddly enough, Kise found himself wanting to see her again._

 _As he turned to go, he noticed something on the ground before him. It was an expensive Parker fountain pen. He smiled as he picked it up._

 _He just found the perfect excuse to look for her._

 _Kise found her in the library two days later purely by accident. The girl was trying to reach for a book on the upper shelves only to fail miserably. He watched as she tried jumping for it, but after a few times, she stopped and pouted in annoyance._

 _"Damn book, why do you have to be up so high? Where are the library assistants when you need them?"_

 _Before she could go and search for one, Kise approached her and easily got the book she had been reaching for earlier and handed it to her with a smile. "This is the one you want, right?"_

 _Her eyes brightened as she accepted the offered book. "Oh. Thanks! Fancy meeting you again."_

 _"So you remembered!"_

 _She stuck her tongue out at him childishly. "Of course, you idiot. By the way, name's Kimiko Akumi."_

 _"Mine's Ki—"_

 _"I know, I know. Kise Ryouta, right?"_

 _She cut off Kise's question of "How did you—"_

 _"Of course I am right."_

 _She was already walking away, however, she seemed to be telling Kise to follow her to the couches in the library's lounge. He sat across her, gaping openly at her total nonchalance at having known that he was indeed the famous Kise Ryouta._

If she was a normal girl, she should have fainted on my feet.

 _Unfortunately — or was it fortunately? — Kimiko Akumi was everything but that._

 _She must have sensed him staring at her intently because she sighed, then crossed her ankles, face hidden behind her History book. "It's rude to stare, you know."_

 _"I'm not staring!" Kise tried to deny, but a snort from the chartreusette told him that she was not believing him in the very least._

 _She shut the book quietly and fixed her gaze on him. "Got something to tell me?" Uncrossing her ankles, she added, "Well, aside from the fact that you are quite surprised at my nonexistent reaction about knowing you, that is. However, I assure you that I am still a human being just like anyone else around you. The only difference is that I am a genuine one."_

Ouch _, Kise winced in his mind. Her words pierced him like a thousand knives in the chest especially with that all knowing tone of hers. Irritation bubbled up deep inside him. He was well aware that she was hinting at him when she said that last line. He retorted harshly, "Well, what do you know?"_

 _"A lot, I tell you. You really should learn how to be more honest with yourself, you know. You're only hurting yourself," she smiled at him knowingly. He was about to retort when she stood up and smiled to someone who just entered the library. "Seijuurou!"_

 _And just like that, Kise was forgotten._

 _The red-haired boy that she called 'Seijuurou' took the book from her and had it checked it out for her. "I figured you were here. What's taking you so long? Practice is about to start in ten minutes."_

 _"Nothing that concerns you," he heard her say as the two exited the library. "Sooo~ ready for the new training menu?"_

 _"I'd like to think that everyone is."_

 _Kimiko's merry laughter echoed in Kise's ears long after they were gone._

 _And it was in that moment that Kise Ryouta realized with a start that he will never be able to reach her from where he stood._

That fact did nothing to prepare him for the scene before him, though.

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Akashi knew the exact moment that Kise laid his gaze on him and Kimiko but he made no move to release her from his embrace. _Let him think what he wants to think_ , the red-head said to himself. It's not like they haven't seen the two act like this before. Akashi and Kimiko hugging one another is not something new to the members of Teikou's basketball club.

Kise stood there in silence for a while, looking at them with a blank face, but Akashi did not miss the way he clenched his fists tightly before forcing a smile on his face and going back inside the room. Ruby eyes narrowed at the gesture but he let it slide.

For now.

"I think the others are already looking for us," Akashi murmured silently. "Kise's here."

Sighing, Kimiko pulled away as his arms loosened around her. "Is that so..." Then she gasped as she remembered. "Oh right! You guys have to go home soon! And you!" She looked at him. "You've a two-hour train ride to Kyoto! Sheesh, how could I forget that?" And as Kimiko continued her grumbling, Akashi took her hand and led her back inside, smiling contentedly all the while.

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"Take care on your way home!"

Kimiko waved at them from the gates of her house. It was unfortunate that Kuroko's birthday was a Sunday — everyone has to go home early since they have classes the following day. And some of them live a few hours away from Tokyo — namely, Akashi, Murasakibara, and Himuro.

"Hai!"

"Bye-bye, Akumicchi!"

"We'll be going now, Kimiko."

"See you soon, Kimi-chan! Oi, Shin-chan, are you not going to say goodbye?"

"Shut up, Takao."

"Bye, Kumi-chin~"

"Ja, see you around."

She watched them walk away from her, but she no longer felt sad at seeing their backs receding into the distance. She sighed, but it was one of relief. They were not exactly the ones she had first known in Teiko, but there are some things about them that still remained the same. When she can no longer see them, she turned to go, only to yelp in surprise.

"Se-Seijuurou!?"

Said redhead only looked at her in amusement. "You look like you've seen a ghost, Akumi."

"I thought you've gone ahead with the others!" she exclaimed, shaking her head as she calmed herself.

Akashi only chuckled in response.

"Not that I'm shooing you away, but... shouldn't you be going off to the station now? It's already late and you have classes tomorrow, right?"

Akashi, instead of answering, asked her a question. "Will you be watching the Nationals?"

"Of course!" she answered enthusiastically. "I can't wait to see all of you on the court, even though I am just a part of the audience now." The last part was said quietly, almost sadly.

"That won't last for long. I'm sure you'll be joining the basketball club as a manager in your second year of high school."

"Yeah, right," she muttered. "Just a couple months more..."

"About that, have you already chosen where to enroll for second year?"

At his query, Kimiko raised an eyebrow in suspicion. She looked at him flatly. "I'm guessing that your next sentence will be along the lines of 'Go to Rakuzan with me', isn't it?"

Akashi's serious expression confirmed her suspicion. "Aa. That is, if you will agree to it."

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	20. 第20章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **20** **章**

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— **月** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **1** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Kyoto, Japan ****

 **京都** **、** **日本**

Akashiwalked down the hallways of Rakuzan High with a smile on his face, phone in hand. Since Kuroko's birthday, he had been smiling more than usual, more carefree, his shoulders less tense, his steps lighter. However, it can be said that only the observant ones — those who knew Akashi well enough — are able to notice the slight change in his demeanor.

Mibuchi and Mayuzumi, for example.

He entered his classroom silently like always, and went straight to his seat in the front row, next to the window overlooking Rakuzan's courtyard. Normally, Akashi would have chosen the one near the center aisle, but then he remembered that Kimiko had always claimed that particular position, and he was curious as to the reason why. Staring through the glass, Akashi still can't find the answer to his question.

Unless Kimiko was just looking for an escape from boring lessons. Unlike Akashi who always pay attention to class despite the fact that he already knows each and every one of their lessons, Kimiko, who was seated beside him, was his complete opposite. More often than not, the chartreusette can be seen with her chin on her hand, head tilted up to the blue sky, watching the clouds with interest. Other times she was doodling away on her sketchbook instead of taking notes, or flipping through the pages of her black notebook, analyzing the stats of the basketball team. Despite all that, her grades were second to his — she participates in class discussions although she has a habit of annoying the teachers to a degree (though they love her anyway), do board work, and volunteers for classroom duties.

 _She'll fit perfectly in Rakuzan,_ he thought. _Maybe I'll invite her here sometime after the Nationals_.

He fished his phone out of his pocket and typed a message addressed to a certain chartreusette. Just as he pressed 'Send', the teacher entered the room. With his classmates, Akashi stood up to greet him, though his mind was clearly somewhere. Had he allowed it to show, everyone would have seen sparkles and flowers around his person.

"Do you think Sei-chan is alright?" Mibuchi whispered to Mayuzumi as their captain entered the gym for for their afternoon practice. The tall shooting guard cannot understand why the redhead was acting so light and carefree when it was but a week ago when Akashi was clearly frustrated with something — enough to make him snap and lash out in anger at some club members who were being talkative while they were jogging.

"Why do you ask?" Mayuzumi replied warily, his voice low in fear that Akashi might hear. Who knows what kind of punishment they'll get from him.

Mibuchi gestured slightly at the person in question, who was currently conversing with their coach. "I just — it just doesn't look normal. Last week he was all sad and angry, and then he comes back from Tokyo and it looks like he just had an overdose of endorphins! It doesn't make sense!"

"If he went to Tokyo, chances are he met up with the _Kiseki_ and they managed to cheer him up. You know," Mayuzumi shrugged, catching a ball that Hayama threw to him from the side of the court. "They do have that weird friendship among them."

"But still!" Mibuchi protested, not quite accepting Mayuzumi's theory. "Why didn't he say anything? To me? I could've —"

"You're beginning to sound like his girlfriend or something," Rakuzan's phantom interrupted his rant, his tone dry. "Akashi can look after himself well enough without anybody's help."

 _Tsundere_ , Mibuchi thought as he chuckled lightly. He nudged Mayuzumi with his shoulder. "C'mon, Mayu-chan," he purred, "I know that you were worried about Sei-chan, too. What with your eyes following his every move..."

"I did not."

"Yes, you did," Mibuchi insisted with a grin. "You were so restless last week, as if you would rush to Sei-chan's side any minute."

"As if you weren't," Mayuzumi shot back. "All your 'Sei-chan this, Sei-chan that' is definitely getting on my nerves. Tsk."

"Well..." Mibuchi wiggled his eyebrows. "I love Sei-chan, that's why."

"Is that a confession?" Akashi suddenly appeared behind him, wearing an indiscernible expression. Mibuchi froze, not daring to look behind him, while Mayuzumi was slowly retreating from the two, hoping to miraculously evade the Emperor Eye and make his escape. At Mibuchi's silence, Akashi turned to him with a raised brow. "And I heard that you were concerned about me."

Mayuzumi choked. "I —"

"I apologize if I worried the two of you," Akashi said sincerely as he moved to Mibuchi's side. "Although I certainly did not expect your declaration of love to me."

His light teasing tone made Mibuchi to turn and look at him. "Sei-chan!"

"Unfortunately, I can't return your feelings," Akashi continued as he walked away from them. A smirk crept up to his lips. "I appreciate the sentiment, though." Saying, Akashi strode gracefully to the center of the gym, wordlessly calling everyone's attention.

"I'm going to faint," Mibuchi whispered as he and Mayuzumi took their places beside Hayama and Nebuya who was giving them weird looks.

"What happened to the two of you?" Rakuzan's muscled center asked, rolling off the sleeves of his shirt out of habit. Hayama suggested once that he should just wear sleeveless shirts if he's going to roll them anyway, but Nebuya was adamant about his decision.

"Right," Hayama quipped. "Reo-nee looks pale."

Mibuchi muttered something under his breath. Hayama looked at Mayuzumi for an explanation to the _Yasha_ 's odd behavior and the phantom sighed. He glanced at Akashi, all serious and calm as he discussed today's training menu. In his mind's eye, he can see sparkles surrounding their red-haired captain. He shook his head and they vanished. Returning his gaze to the bewildered Hayama, he ran a hand through his silver mane.

"Akashi." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Akashi happened."

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 **"** ThisSaturday, then," Akashi said, phone held to his ear as he buttoned his shirt deftly with one hand. "I'll meet you at the station. What time will you be — I see." He nodded to himself and slung his bag on his shoulder. He paused as the person on the other end of the line said something. He chuckled and resumed walking towards the door of the locker room. "I'm sure Yukimaru is excited to see you again." He reached for the doorknob. His hand stilled, eyes narrowing as he stared at the door. Pulling the door open, he sidestepped quickly as three figures came stumbling inside, cursing and scrambling as they tried to get up from the tangle of limbs.

"Oi, Gorilla, get off me! Oww!"

"Mibuchi, stop moving — your elbow is digging in my stomach!"

Raven locks parted as Mibuchi looked up and saw Akashi staring down at them flatly.

"Explain."

At his one-worded order, the three sat up, all in _seiza_ position, nudging one another to make one of them speak up. Mibuchi had his hands on his lap, Hayama was twiddling his thumbs, Nebuya was playing thumb-wrestling by himself, while Mayuzumi —

Said person pulled himself from the wall where he was leaning on, armed with a light novel, as always. He gave the others on the floor a sweeping glance, then met Akashi's questioning gaze.

"They were —"

He stopped as Akashi held a hand to silence him. Mayuzumi forgot that he had been talking on the phone. "Ah, just my teammates being annoying." Akashi huffed as the person on the other end of the line said something. "Well, yes. I'll call you later after I —" he glanced at them "—sort this out."

He pocketed his phone. "You were saying, Mayuzumi?"

"They were eavesdropping on you," Mayuzumi said. "Mibuchi was curious."

He looked at the pouting Mibuchi. "And why is that, Mibuchi?"

"I'm curious about the person who can make you laugh easily like that. And not your evil laugh, but a real, genuine, happy, cheerful laugh — like really laugh."

Akashi raised an eyebrow. "You're being redundant with your words, Mibuchi. Or is that for emphasis?"

"Mou, Sei-chan...!" Mibuchi's eyes gleamed. "It's not Kuro-chan, is it?"

Akashi shook his head. "No."

"Then who is it?"

The redhead smiled — a gentle smile that left everyone surprised and wondering. His ruby eyes shined with something akin to anticipation as he said, "You'll see her soon."

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— **火** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **2** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Kyoto, Japan ****

 **京都** **、** **日本**

"It's a girl!" Mibuchi exclaimed for what seemed like the nth time to Mayuzumi. It was the day after the locker room incident. The four of them were walking to their classrooms together — Akashi, of course, was headed to the first-years' building by himself. He exchanged looks with Hayama, who then turned to Nebuya, only to frown on displeasure on seeing him munching on a burger that appeared out of nowhere.

"Oi, Gorilla, pay attention!" Hayama said in exasperation. Seriously, this person has the attention span of a five-year old. Not to mention that they'd just eaten lunch — does he have a black hole for a stomach?

"Don't involve me anymore — don't wanna die early," Nebuya muttered between bites.

"This is about Sei-chan's love life!"

"I don't care — I love my own life, thank you very much."

Mibuchi turned to Mayuzumi for back-up.

"Look. Akashi said we're meeting her soon — can't we just wait until then?"

"I can't!" Mibuchi wailed. He gazed at them with imploring eyes. "What do you think she looks like?"

The three gave it a moment's thought. Now that they thought about it, they've never seen their fearless captain express any form of interest towards the fairer sex — not that the female students of Rakuzan were unattractive. It's quite the opposite. Given that, how were they to guess Akashi's ideal girl?

"Dunno," Hayama and Nebuya chorused, their minds drawing up a blank.

Mayuzumi closed his novel and looked skyward. "She's probably someone unique."

"Why do you say that?"

He clicked his tongue. "It's Akashi, what do you expect?" At their silence, he smiled inwardly. "She's not one of those rich, snobbish heiresses, for sure. Akashi hates their kind with passion." Akashi never did flaunt his wealth, despite being the heir to the richest corporation in Japan and among the top corporations worldwide, so it's safe to say that he hates people who are guilty of such act.

"She must be a very interesting person, indeed."

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 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

Somewherein Tokyo, a certain chartreusette sneezed.

"Here," Midorima handed her a tissue.

"Thanks," she muttered. "I wonder who was talking about me..."

 _Rather, the question should be_ _ **'**_ Who _was_ thinking _about_ you _?' because I can name quite a few,_ Midorima thought to himself. _Me included_ , a traitorous part of his mind added. Beside him, Kimiko sneezed again.

"So why were you here again?" she asked him when she had recovered. It was a Tuesday, and the two of them were seated on a park bench, drinking hot chocolate purchased from a nearby Maji Burger store. Midorima was still in his school uniform, a green scarf around his neck, while Kimiko was dressed warmly in a black fur-lined coat and boots, making her lime-green hair to stand out. They looked like a pair of siblings due to their similar hair colors.

"Classes were canceled for the rest of the afternoon. No practice, either."

"And Kazunari?"

"He's running an errand for —" he stopped mid-sentence and glared at the smirking Kimiko. "What does he got to do with anything?!"

She giggled quietly. "You can't be seen without that hawk-eyed boy since you went to Shutoku. Is he your best friend?"

"He's my slave," said Midorima, sipping from his cup.

"Riiiiiight," and Kimiko rolled her eyes.

After draining their styro cups of the sweet, warm liquid, Kimiko asked Midorima to dispose of them by shooting them in the trash bin a few feet from where they sat. The green-haired boy obliged, albeit a bit grumpily at having to use his skill in such a manner, but seeing Kimiko cheering and urging him to do it made him decide that it was worth it.

Her smiles, her laughter.

It was definitely worth it.

"I want to go to Akita," she suddenly said, on their way to an antique store that sells weird items. She suggested it to Midorima given his obsession with horoscopes and lucky items — it might prove helpful someday.

"Why?" Midorima asked.

"Snow," she said cheerily. "Lots and lots of it."

"You really love snowball fights."

She grinned up at him. "Only when you're on my side." Midorima's skill in shooting three-pointers is also applicable to balled-up snow. Back in middle school, the park across their campus was witness to their snowball wars, and Kimiko always make sure that she had Midorima on her team no matter what, perhaps the only time when she chooses someone else over Akashi.

That and the fact that she seems to enjoy lobbing snowballs at Akashi's face.

They reached the shop that Kimiko had only found out through her daily strolls. The chimes rang as they pushed the door open, and the same old woman greeted them at the counter.

She let Midorima browse freely around the store, while she leaned on the counter, watching him from where she stood. The shop was small, so no matter Midorima went, she can still see him quite well. She chatted for a while with the shopkeeper, but when another group of customers entered the store, Kimiko pushed herself off the wooden counter and headed to where her companion was inspecting some dream catchers on display, and she could see that he already had chosen a good amount of items.

She laughed. "Are you planning to buy everything?" She pointed at his purchases. "You can just come back here tomorrow or whenever you like. It's not like this store is going to vanish overnight."

After some persuasion, Midorima went up to the counter to pay for them, and they exited the store to the sound of the wind chimes. He offered to walk her home then, and Kimiko allowed him to, and they talked about random things along the way. On her doorstep, just as she was about to go in, Midorima pulled out something from the plastic bag that he was carrying and shoved it in her hands. Before she could respond, Midorima was already gone, leaving her without even saying goodbye.

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 **** Kyoto, Japan ****

 **京都** **、** **日本**

Akashilovingly ran his hands through Yukimaru's mane as he watched his horse munch on an apple from his hand. Alone in the stables, Akashi smiled softly, a smile that, had anyone seen it, would've described as an innocent smile with a splash of sadness and hope at the same time, and they would've had difficulty in accepting that it is coming from the Emperor himself.

Not once did Akashi let down his walls in front of others.

But he always did.

For her.

"Mother would've been glad to know her," he murmured, and Yukimaru whinnied, as if voicing his agreement, making Akashi chuckle as he looked his dear horse in the eye.

"Do you know who is it that I'm referring earlier?"

Yukimaru tossed his head.

"Aa. It's Akumi, you remember?" Crimson eyes stared at the far wall, lost in the sea of memories. He and Akumi, in this room, brushing Yukimaru's mane, feeding him, flopping on the hay, laughters...

He led the white stallion back to his corral and gave it one last pat on its head. As he walked the path leading to the back entrance of the manor, he gazed up at the slowly darkening skies and smiled to himself.

"Seijuurou-sama!" The voice of his butler broke the silence. He paused in his steps as the older man ran up to him. "Your father wants to talk to you."

His eyes immediately narrowed in annoyance. "I see." This is probably about the upcoming Nationals. "I'll go to his study after I make myself presentable. You may go. Thank you."

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 **"** _Otou_ - _sama_ ," Akashi addressed the man at the table and took his seat across him. The senior Akashi continued with his work for a few tense minutes before putting down his pen. Ruby eyes seemed to drink in Akashi, eyes searching. When he spoke, his voice was calm.

Akashi knew better.

"Seijuurou."

" _Hai, otou-sama_ ," he replied, polite as ever.

"Your team will be participating in the Nationals." It was more of a statement than a question.

" _Hai, otou-sama_." Going through this tiresome routine once more, he can already hear Kimiko say, _You sound like a robot_. But what else can he possibly say?

"You must win the championship. Anything less, and I'll be sending you off to America. That single loss during the Winter Cup is enough. Do that again and you'll be saying goodbye to basketball. For good." When the younger Akashi did not reply, he added, "It's taking too much of your time. After the Nationals, you'll be attending a couple of _omiai_ with some of the daughters of our business partners and I expect you to be free in the afternoons by then."

Akashi clenched his hands under the table, though his face betrayed none of his emotions. In a dead, cold voice, he answered his sire with another " _Hai, otou-sama_."

Akashi Masaomi looked at his son with a deadly glint in his ruby red eyes. He scoffed. "Good. Remember that we Akashi are absolute. Do not disappoint me again," and with an imperceptible nod of his head, he dismissed his son from the room and resumed doing his work. Akashi promptly rose from his seat and bowed to his father before going out the door. Closing it silently, he stopped and exhaled, releasing the breath that he had been holding in. He counted up to three, then shook his head before going on his way.

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	21. 第21章

**Author's Note:** Changes made to the dialog between Kimiko and her parent, and to the conversation between the five as they ate in Maji Burger. I suggest you re-read the entire thing again so that you will get all the minor yet important changes made to the story. You'll need to know them.

Lots of changes are made regarding the photo shoot and will affect Kise's relationship with Kimiko.

That's all!

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **21** **章**

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— **水** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **3** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

Kimiko stood in front of her mirror, observing her reflection. Her eyes were fixed on her neck, where the absence of a red choker was very much noticeable. To herself, at least — not that anyone else would notice. She'd ceased to wear that certain piece of accessory upon returning to Japan — she trusted Kuroko to keep his word and wearing the choker was just a bitter reminder of her last year in Teiko.

Her phone by the bedside table rang, and she went over to pick it up. There dangled a cute raccoon key chain at one end of her phone — a tiny fluffy ball of black-and-white fur that Midorima had given her yesterday. She chuckled at the remembrance and muttered something about the green-head being such a lovable _tsundere_.

 _ **[From: Father]**_

 _ **10:23AM: Akumi, how are you?**_

Kimiko smiled sadly as she typed a reply.

 _ **10:24AM: I'm fine. How are you, dad?**_

 _ **[From: Father]**_

 _ **10:26AM: I'm doing fine, as well. Are you really staying in Japan for good?**_

"Oh? Is that old man still pressuring him about that?" Kimiko murmured as her fingers flew over her touchscreen keyboard.

 _ **10:26AM: That's good to hear. And yes, I want to stay here. I don't feel like I belong in France anyway.**_

 _ **[From: Father]**_

 _ **10:27AM: I know. You never smile in here.**_

 _ **[To: Father]**_

 _ **10:27AM: You would too, if they would force you to dye your hair.**_

 _ **[From: Father]**_

 _ **10:29AM: I wish you don't have to go through that. I am sorry.**_

 _ **[To: Father]**_

 _ **10:30AM: It's alright. I know that you wouldn't have me go through that if you had a say in the matter.**_

 _ **[From: Father]**_

 _ **10:32AM: Just keep safe while you're in there, Akumi. I know that I wasn't with you for most of your life but believe me when I say that I truly care for you as my daughter.**_

 _ **[To: Father]**_

 _ **10:32AM: I never did doubt you, Tou-san. Love you. Take care always. And don't let yourself get too stressed over grandfather's demands, okay?**_

 _ **[From: Father]**_

 _ **10:34M: I will. Keep safe, Akumi. I'll send you some chocolates later.**_

 _ **[To: Father]**_

 _ **10:35AM: Yey! I'll be waiting for that!**_

After sending her last message, Kimiko shoved her phone in her pocket and went out of her house and into the slightly cold February morning to keep her mind off of things that she'd rather not remember. She wandered aimlessly around the streets of Tokyo for hours, going into various sports shops and bookstores, even hanging out for a while in that certain rooftop arcade where she and the team used to frequent after Kuroko introduced it to them. Nothing much has changed about it aside from the fact that the photocopier machine in the corner was now replaced by a newer one.

She leaned on the railings and watched several middle-schoolers play on the DDR.

"This is nostalgic," she said to no one in particular, taking a sip from that weird drink that Murasakibara had introduced to her. She wasn't there when Kuroko and the rest of the gang first stumbled to this place — she had been busy helping Akashi with some club work — but she had Kise narrate the whole story of their escapade after Akashi had punished them for disobeying his orders, and the matter of the photo booth was mentioned. She remembered laughing at the part where Kuroko was momentarily forgotten by everyone only to find out that Murasakibara had been blocking him from view since the beginning.

When four o'clock rolled around, Kimiko decided to go and pay a visit to a certain bluenette. Practice was already underway by the time she made it to Seirin, and no one would have noticed her standing in the gym's entrance if not for the bundle of fur that she was now carrying in her arms.

"Woof, woof!"

Kimiko giggled quietly as she held Nigou at arm's length to stop the puppy from licking her cheek. The members of Seirin's basketball team paused for a moment to stare at her.

"Akumi-san," Kuroko appeared beside her, and his teammates noticed that she wasn't the least bit surprised at the phantom's sudden appearance.

"For a minute there, I thought you were the dog," Kimiko joked. She nodded to Rikou in acknowledgment after sending Kuroko back to the court. Nigou was following her as she took a seat beside the older girl.

"I apologize for intruding on your practice," she said, looking straight at Rikou.

"Ah, it's fine, it's fine!" Inwardly though, Rikou was a bit unnerved at her golden eyes and how their intensity reminded her of the Rakuzan captain. The girl seemed nice, though, like what the team had told her after their encounter with Kimiko at Maji Burger weeks ago.

"Your team is pretty good," Kimiko commented after some period of silence. "Oh, I'm Kimiko Akumi. You can call me Akumi."

"Th-thanks. "Ah, I am Aida Rikou. Pleased to meet you, Akumi-san," Rikou stuttered, feeling oddly pleased at being complimented by Teikou's former coach. If Rikou felt a bit insecure at Momoi (and that was only because of the fact that she had a bigger cup-size), Kimiko was on a whole other level.

Rikou feels quite intimidated. Not only with her looks - the girl looks perfectly elegant — but with her talent, even though Rikou haven't seen it yet, whatever that is.

Who wouldn't? As Kuroko had mentioned in passing, this girl was probably the only person — aside from their head coach Shirogane Kozo and former captain Nijimura Shuuzo in Teikou — that the _Kiseki_ _no_ _Sedai_ knuckles under. Akashi Seijuurou included.

"Man, I miss this," she heard the chartreusette murmur. At Nigou's whining, Kimiko tore her eyes from the court and paid attention to the puppy by giving it a nice scratch behind the ears.

"Nigou likes you a lot already... Momoi had quite a difficulty making friends with him," Seirin's coach commented.

Kimiko laughed and placed the dog on her lap. She looked at Nigou's Kuroko-like eyes. "Well, what can I say? Animals love me."

There was a short water break and Kuroko went over to where Kimiko now sat cross-legged on the floor on one side of the court, playing a variant of fetch with Nigou using a basketball. She would send the ball rolling with a flick of her finger and the dog would run after it and return it to her by pushing it with his nose.

"Ya, Tetsuya," Kimiko greeted the bluenette as he sat beside her. Seeing his master, Nigou ran to him and proceeded to give Kuroko's face a wash job. Kimiko was amused.

"Okay, Niguo, that's enough," she said, and the dog obeyed instantly. The dog's obedience to Kimiko was something Kuroko expected, seeing how the two bonded quickly. Kimiko has always been good at handling pets.

"Akumi-san—"

"Just Akumi, Tetsuya."

"But Akumi-san—"

She poked his nose. "A-ku-mi."

"Akumi-san."

The girl pouted. "Fine."

"Akumi-san, will you be watching the Nationals tournament?"

"Yeah. Seijuurou told me to go to Kyoto this Saturday. Looks like I will be staying with him and his team for a week." She shrugged. "I would've preferred heading straight to Wakayama but Seijuurou didn't want me to stay there alone."

Kuroko smiled at that. "Akashi-kun is just worried for your safety, Akumi-san."

"Hmp," she snorted. "He's a worrywart."

"Akashi-kun is a mother hen. Later, Akumi-san." Kuroko stood up as she nodded and he went back to training. After all, there are only three days left to polish whatever needs to be polished and then they will be off to war.

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"Yo," Kagami said with matching salute to Kimiko who was waiting for him and Kuroko outside Seirin's gym after they finished training. She returned his salute with a smirk then with one swift move, stole the ball from the redhead's hands.

"Borrow," she said as she dribbled it lazily.

"Can't you just ask like a normal person?" Kagami said in exasperation.

Her smile turned devilish. "Who said I was asking?"

Kagami face-palmed.

Kuroko merely smiled lightly at his two companions.

"Can we go to Maji Burger for a while? I'm starving," Kagami requested. Then pointing to Kuroko, he added, "And this one here needs his daily vanilla dose."

"It's not a drug, Kagami-kun."

"Suuure," Kimiko drawled, knowing perfectly his addiction to those vanilla milkshakes, but went with them anyway. However, they did not expect to bump into Kise along the way.

Actually, more like they heard him first before they saw him.

"Akumicchi!"

The yellow blob in the distance turned out to be none other than Kaijou's ace, waving a magazine in his hands high up in the air.

"Baka! Don't be so noisy!" Another voice said, as equally loud as Kise. Said person delivered a kick to the model's backside, effectively sending him flying forward.

" _Itai_ , Kasamatsu-senpai!"

"Shut up, you idiot!"

Needless to say, their audience was amused, confused, and bewildered at their sudden appearance.

Upon reaching her side, Kise immediately hid behind Kimiko's slender form. "Akumicchi, Kasamatsu-senpai is being a meanie!"

Kasamatsu froze at the girl's presence.

"Kasamatsu-senpai," Kuroko greeted Kaijou's captain who was internally grateful for the interruption. "What brings you here?"

"This idiot says he has something to say t-to h-her." Kasamatsu cursed himself for feeling uncomfortable with women. He remembered that joint party that the team had went to once, and how that ended up in disaster.

"Is that so? Ryou-kun, what is so important that you had to drag your captain all the way from Kanagawa with you?"

 _How did she knew that I am Kise's captain?_

"This!" Kise was about to show her the magazine but Kagami interrupted him.

"Can we guys talk about this inside?" He jerked his thumb at the fast food joint across the street. The four stared at him, then gave a collective sigh and conceded to his wishes.

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"So you were saying...?" Kimiko asked Kise once they had ordered their food. She was seated at the head of the table for six, Kuroko and Kagami on her left, Kise and Kasamatsu on the other.

Kise gave her the magazine that was opened to a certain page. "Its official release is on Sunday, but my manager was able to get a copy in advance. He was very happy with the results!"

The girl was quiet for a moment as she sipped on her coffee, thumbing through the glossy pages of the magazine. "Not bad..." she mused to herself. The seven hours of torture was worth it.

"You're a model?" Kagami asked with his mouth full of burger. Not that it would be so surprising - she's so pretty anyway.

She eyed him with narrowed golden orbs. "Don't talk when your mouth is full," she admonished, making him blush in embarrassment. "As for your question, no, I'm not a model."

"Then why are you —"

"Ryouta asked me to. It's a one-time thing," she answered nonchalantly.

"Akumicchi looked really beautiful in these though," Kise said as he passed the magazine to Kuroko who was silently asking for them. He and Kagami looked at their pictures together. All in all, there were five shots of Kise with Kimiko, while Kise had several others on his own to go with his own interview article.

"Woah," Kagami cannot help but be amazed by their pictures. He looked at the grinning Kise and wondered how this klutz can look so serious in his photos.

"Akumi-san looks perfect in all of them," Kuroko said as he flipped through the pages.

"Eh? What about me, Kurokocchi?" Kise whined.

"Kise-kun is just annoying," the bluenette deadpanned.

"SO MEAAAAN!"

Kuroko sighed at his overreacting friend. "Kise-kun, it's already a given that you are an excellent model."

"Maybe I just want Kurokocchi to say it," the blond model sulked, making the chartreusette to giggle at the two of them.

Feeling generous, Kuroko relented. "Fine. Kise-kun is handsome in his photos."

"Thank you, Kurokocchi!"

His four companions only sighed at how easily he was appeased.

"Ne, Kagamicchi, do you have a date for Valentines next week?" Kise suddenly asked.

"Why, Ryouta? You want to ask him out?"

Both Kise and Kagami choked on their food. "WHAT?!" they exclaimed in unison.

Kimiko met their bewildered eyes with a calm gaze. "In perfect sync already."

"Akumicchi!" Kise protested. "I was just asking!"

"Defensive," she replied.

"I'm not!"

"Yes, you are."

"I'm not!"

At his noisiness, Kasamatsu, who had been quiet all that time decided to intervene. "Oi, Kise, you're disturbing the other customers with your loudness."

The blond instantly calmed down. "Sorry, Kasamatsu-senpai."

"Kise-kun, sometimes I wonder if you had swallowed a microphone or something."

"Kurokocchi, you're being mean again..." Kise said with a pout.

"Back on the matter at hand," Kimiko said, resting her chin on her palm. "Who got a date for Valentines?"

A collective shaking of the head answered her question.

"Figures," she chuckled. "You guys are too obsessed with basketball to think of other things."

"I think I'm taking Momoi-san out to eat or something," Kuroko said after a moment's deliberation.

"Oh?" Her gold eyes glinted in amusement. _Satsuki will be overjoyed._

Kise said it for her. "Momoicchi will be ecstatic!" Everyone in their circle knows the pinkette's obsession for the bluenette.

"I just want to thank her for everything she has done for me," the phantom said with a small smile. "How about you, Kise-kun?"

"Nah, I don't have a girlfriend since entering high school," he answered. "How about you, Captain?"

Kasamatsu glared at him as if to say, _Have you forgotten who you are talking to?_ Kise's eyes widened as he realized his mistake and apologized before Kasamatsu kick him again. "Waah, _gomen_ , _gomen_! I forgot that you are afraid of girls!"

There was a pause, and Kise covered his mouth with his hand.

"...Afraid of... girls?" Kagami asked slowly.

 _PAK!_

A hand landed on the back of Kise's head.

"You don't have to say that out loud! And I'm not afraid of them — I'm just uncomfortable with them!"

"Don't worry, Captain. We don't bite," Kimiko said with a smirk.

"Akumi-san, that's hardly reassuring," said Kuroko flatly, seeing how Kasamatsu had stiffened when Kimiko addressed him directly.

She ignored him, an idea already forming in her head. Kuroko paled while Kise gulped as they recognized that certain smile of hers whenever she was scheming something.

Kise held Kasamatsu's wrist, pulling him up as he rose from his seat. "Ah, Akumicchi, we will be going now — Kanagawa is a bit far and we have —"

Her smile turned to a full-blown smirk. "No one is going anywhere until I say so." Gold eyes locked on Kasamatsu's confused ones. "Care for a short walk, Captain?"

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One and a half-hour later, Kimiko plunked herself on a park bench with a sigh. With a grimace, she gazed at her four companions before zeroing on the black-haired boy. "Just how uncomfortable with girls are you?!"

He only glared at her.

She had dragged him to several establishments where Kasamatsu would be forced to interact with females, such as a salon, a tea house, a restaurant, a mall... And every time one of them would ask him a question, Kasamatsu would stutter with his answers.

"I don't know! All I know is that I don't know how to deal with them!"

Kimiko had probably asked him the same question several times during their venture, but instead of becoming frustrated or angry, a knowing smile would play on her lips before she dragged him off to another place.

She stood up and patted his shoulder. "No stutter this time." Even Kasamatsu hadn't realized it until she pointed it out as he stared at her in surprise. "And no flinching upon contact," she added as she smiled wider.

"How did you do that, Akumicchi?" Kise asked, equally shocked as his captain. "Did you cast a spell on him or something?" Her foot connected with his shin. "Oww!"

"Do I look like a witch?" Kise shook his head. "There's my answer." Turning to Kasamatsu, she said, "At least, you can tolerate another female aside from your mother. And that's me. Today is an accomplishment, after all."

"I'm not sure if I should thank you for that," Kasamatsu grumbled in reply.

"You're welcome, Yukio-senpai," she said cheekily.

"I haven't thanked you yet! And who told you can call me by my first name?"

"I do what I want," she answered coolly, grinning at the fuming captain before her.

"Great, another brat," he muttered, making her laugh. He sighed. "We haven't even introduced ourselves to one another properly."

Kimiko stopped, then held a hand out to him. "Kimiko Akumi. You know that by now."

"Hmp. For formality's sake," he said as he shook her hand. "Kasamatsu Yukio — and that's _Kasamatsu-senpai_ to you."

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Kuroko, Kagami, and Kimiko accompanied Kise and Kasamatsu to the train station, bickering and teasing one another on the way there. This time, Kasamatsu was joining them. Before they boarded their train, Kimiko waved at them one last time, and with a merry shout of "See you at the Nationals, Ryouta, Yukio-senpai!", the trio also went on their way home.

On the train to Kanagawa, Kasamatsu asked his _kouhai_ , "So that's the girl?" At Kise's affirmation, he turned his gaze through the glass windows. "She's weird."

He can talk to her in straight sentences, and he no longer feels the need to run from her. _Weird, indeed._

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 **** Kyoto, Japan ****

 **京都** **、** **日本**

"Isn't that your teammate from middle school, Seijuurou-sama?"

Narrowed ruby eyes flickered to the car's rear view mirror for barely a second before returning to the magazine in his lap. His hands holding it in place was so tight that he was already crumpling the edges.

"Aa." His sharp and short reply discouraged any more questions from his chauffeur.

 _Akumi_ , he thought. His left eye, which had dulled to its original crimson hue after the Winter Cup, glowed with a faint golden brightness.

Under the Akashi Corporation was a slew of different businesses ranging from electronics to real estates to hotel and restaurant chains, fashion labels to resorts and sports equipment facilities. To say that they are the ones ruling the business world of Japan was an understatement.

In his hands was one of the things discussed at the board meeting earlier that afternoon. The Vermilion Palace hotel chain was one of the newest ventures of the Akashi Corporation and even though the Vermilion had been doing good for the past year, it had been decided that there will be a promotion of the hotel using the model Kise Ryouta and another female model - someone who isn't Kimiko. Akashi didn't give any hints, but Kise Ryouta already has a bright future ahead of him as one of the favored models by the different companies under the Akashi conglomerate. Akashi was proud of him, yes, but that doesn't mean that Kise had the right to drag Kimiko in this mess.

His father's words still echoed in his mind.

 _"She is the picture of elegance and sophistication. While Kise Ryouta captivates his audience with his cheerful and warm smile, this new model attracts the eyes of everyone by drawing them in by her mysterious and exotic beauty, especially her eyes."_

That's quite the compliment from the head of the Akashi Corporation that surprised the majority of those in attendance. No one dared to comment, of course.

No doubt his father would order a background check on her, and Akashi would have to get to her first and dissuade her from continuing this thing before his father presents his deal to her. Even Kimiko would have a hard time to resist Akashi Masaomi's deals; not that Akashi would like to find out.

Because if she did accept, no doubt she and Kise will be together more often, and there's no way in Hell that Akashi is letting that happen. Not if he can help it.

He stared at the pictures in deep contemplation. There were five of them, and what infuriated him was how intimate the pictures seemed to be.

In one of their shots, it shows Kimiko in a red dress, a hand on Kise's hair as he loomed over her, both of them soaking wet, their faces uncomfortably close to each other. Kimiko's smile was sly, while Kise was smirking smugly as they stared each other in the eye, as if provoking the other to act.

Akashi turned the page. No, he is not certainly jealous. Jealous is for the insecure. What he feels is anger. Anger at seeing someone trespass on his property. And that is just plain unforgivable.

"To the station. I'm going to Tokyo."

"But Seijuurou-sama —" His glare, visible in the mirror, was enough to shut up the poor man. "Ha-hai."

 _You're mine, Akumi. The empress belongs to the emperor alone._

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 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

Kimiko entered her dark house quietly. The moment she closed the door though, a chill passed through her.

 _She is not alone._

As silent and as fast as she could, Kimiko removed her shoes, preferring to go barefoot to avoid making unnecessary noise, then grabbed the baseball bat that she kept near the shoe rack. It was a safety precaution that Akashi had once suggested, and the feeling of the metal bat in her hands gave her courage and confidence to be able to deal with this intruder.

In the darkness of the living room, she can make out a silhouette of a person seated on her couch. She forced herself to silence her breathing as she inched her way towards the unknown person.

"Put down the bat, Akumi."

"Seijuurou?!" Kimiko exclaimed in disbelief. She hurriedly turned on the lights and set the bat on the wall. "You could have at least turned the lights on, you know," she complained as she settled on the armchair on his left. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"I apologize."

Kimiko, who was yet to look Akashi in the face, noticed the magazine lying open on the glass table in front of her. Gold eyes widened in recognition. "Where did you —" She stopped as Akashi met her gaze. Slowly, the redhead rose from his seat. He had shed his coat, his immaculate dress shirt making the crimson red of his tie, which was loosened a bit, to stand out. There was an ominous gleam in his mismatched eyes as he approached the chartreusette who was frozen in her seat, her fingers digging into the armrests of her chair. Her brows were furrowed in uncertainty to the golden eye that was staring almost mockingly at her. His gaze held hers in place as he stopped in front of her. He bent forward, bringing his face close to hers, close enough to feel her shallow breathing on his lips. His hand cupped her cheek, his thumb caressing the soft skin of her face.

"...Seijuurou...?" she said in a broken whisper, golden eyes filled with confusion at the sight of his golden eye.

A lazy smirk graced Akashi's lips as he brought them to her ear. He felt her shiver as his warm breath tickled the inside of her earlobe.

"Akumi," he spoke into her ear, rolling her name off his tongue like velvet, voice saccharine sweet, "tell me, what am I to do with you?"

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	22. 第22章

**Author's Note:** Small but important changes. Yeah.

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **22** **章**

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— **水** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **3** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

"Akumi," he spoke into her ear, rolling her name off his tongue like velvet, voice saccharine, "tell me, what am I to do with you?"

"Seijuurou, cut it out," Kimiko managed to bit out. "This is not funny anymore."

"My point, exactly," came his voice by her ear. "What gave you the idea that I am trying to be funny?" He had trapped her in the armchair, his hands pinning her wrists on the armrests. Struggling is futile. "What did I tell you about consorting with Ryouta?"

It all clicked into place. _The photo shoot._ She had the urge to face palm in spite of her inner panic at seeing his left eye not quite golden but considerably lighter than its crimson counterpart. That and Akashi had actually called Kise by his first name. "Seijuurou, get off me." He remained in place. "Now."

"Not until you explain everything."

"I'm not explaining with you like this."

Akashi shrugged. "Suit yourself."

To his surprise, the girl relaxed against the chair, making herself comfortable, ignoring him completely when he fully expected her to lash out at him. He had been fully prepared if she decided to use her _ninja_ - _moves_ on him, but this—this was something that he did not see coming.

His hands loosened a bit around her wrists as he pulled away to look her in the face.

Wrong move.

Pain erupted at the center of his forehead as the girl gave him a vicious head butt.

He released her in favor of rubbing the sore spot that was now throbbing with pain. Taking a few steps back, he stopped when the back of his legs made contact with the coffee table, and proceeded to glare at the devilishly smirking female in front of him, seemingly unaffected with her own actions.

 _It was supposed to hurt her too, right?_

They spent a few minutes in a stare-down before she arched one fine eyebrow at him. The odd gleam in his left eye had gone away.

"So, have you finally regained your senses?"

When he refused to answer, she continued in an amused tone. "I guess I hit you too hard..." She then stood up and went to the kitchen. Akashi had taken over the armchair in her absence, palm still pressed on his forehead. Perching herself on the armrest, she brushed away his hand and his crimson bangs and replaced them with the ice pack that she had gone to retrieve. They stayed that way in complete silence until Akashi decided to speak.

"You didn't answer my question."

The chartreusette had been spacing off that she blinked a few times before she replied with a very intelligent, "Huh?"

Akashi clicked his tongue, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he stared straight at the TV screen across him. "What were you doing with Kise?"

At the change in the way that he referred to the blond, Kimiko relaxed considerably. Letting out a sigh of relief, she began explaining the whole _modeling_ _thing_ to the annoyed redhead. "Ryou-kun invited —" She had barely begun when he cut her off with another annoyed question.

" _Ryou_ - _kun_?" The way he said it was full of disgust. "Last I heard, Kise was _Ryouta_ to you. When and how and why did —"

Her free hand covered Akashi's mouth none too gently. Crimson eyes flickered upwards to meet her amused golden ones.

"Now, you're quiet. One question at a time, Your Majesty." Her hand remained in place as she continued with her narration. "As I was saying, _Ryou-kun_ —" she emphasized the name as if teasing Akashi with it, "—invited me to one of his photo shoots because I asked him that back when we were still in middle school. I was supposed to be only watching him do his job, but then his—What now?" she asked in irritation at having been interrupted again when he tried to remove her hand by shaking his head. Akashi glared at her before letting out a sigh. His hand shot up and covered Kimiko's face the way she was doing to him just moments ago and smirked when she swatted his hand away, huffing as she did so.

"Are you planning to suffocate me?" she asked, this time glaring openly at him.

His mouth twitched. "That was payback. I can't breath properly with your hand over my nose and mouth."

"Oh." She bit back a giggle. "Why didn't you speak up then?"

"Like I said, you were covering my nose _and_ my mouth."

"Right," she said, inwardly kicking herself for being stupid. "It's your fault, though. You kept interrupting me."

"Fine, then. Continue with your story," Akashi said with a wave of his hand.

She rolled her golden eyes at him but complied anyway. "Where was I? Oh, yeah, the female model didn't make it. The plan was to postpone the shoot but then the photographer noticed me and well, you know what happened next."

"Why did you agree to it?"

"Because I was curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat," he retorted, quoting the famous adage.

"Do I look like a cat to you?" she shot back, irritation bubbling up inside her.

"It's not meant to be taken literally," he explained.

She cannot help it any longer. This time, it was her who snapped. Letting the ice pack drop to his lap, she slid off her seat and fixed Akashi with a hard gaze. On instinct, Akashi rose to face her, not letting her to look down on him. He took a step toward her, but that only prompted her to narrow her eyes at him as she took a step back.

"Tell me, Seijuurou," she asked in a cold voice, "tell me, why are you being like this?"

"Like what, Akumi?"

"You don't know? Seriously, Seijuurou? _You don't know?_ "

"I don't —"

"Possessive! You're acting possessive over me!" Her sudden outburst made Akashi freeze mid-step. "Questioning my choices on who I hang out with and what I do with them and what I call them — that's being possessive, Seijuurou — in case you missed that certain fact despite your humongous IQ! You're-you're acting like _him_!" she exhaled loudly. She raked a hand through her lime-green hair in frustration, trying to calm herself.

The redhead's eyes widened slightly at her outburst. Was he acting like the Emperor?

He closed his eyes and remembered his earlier actions.

 _Yes, he was,_ he realized with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Inside his head, he watched the Emperor emerged from the shadows. _**Possessive, huh. Why should I? When you already belong to me?**_

 _Be quiet,_ he ordered. _I don't need you scaring her like you did earlier._

 _ **We can't have her associating with other people. It's like what Shintarou said. Someone is out to take her away from us.**_

 _She's not going anywhere. She promised._

The Emperor sneered at him. _**And you believe her?**_

 _Yes._

 _ **Why?**_

 _Because I trust her._

He slowly opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Kimiko's face. She looked sad and weary, when just a while ago, she had been laughing and teasing him merrily.

"I'm sorry. I was out of line." This time when he reached out to her, she didn't flinch or move away. He held her hand and she gave him a reassuring squeeze, a silent gesture of accepting his apology.

A mischievous smile replaced her tired expression and it pleased — and relieved — Akashi to see that Kimiko was back to her impish self. It always baffles him to see her change moods in a heartbeat — from happy to angry to sad — and each time she switches her disposition for another, there won't be a trace of the previous one. If Kimiko is happy, then she is truly and absolutely happy. If Kimiko is angry, then she is truly and absolutely angry. She is that black-and-white when it comes to her emotions.

"So, Seijuurou-sama was jealous?" she said as they resumed their previous positions on the armchair. Kimiko was facing him, her right hand holding the ice pack in place over his forehead.

"What gave you the idea?" he murmured, eyes closed as he let her tend to him.

"Hmm, well, that's how jealous people tend to act."

He cracked one eye open. "Is that so?"

"Usually."

He nodded thoughtfully, and they lapsed to comfortable silence once more.

Suddenly Akashi remembered something important. "How about your forehead, Akumi?" _If mine was hurting as much, then it stands to reason that she was in just as much pain as I do..._

"What about it?" she asked, clearly puzzled at his question.

"Aren't you hurt as well?"

"...Hurt? Oh, no, I'm not," she replied happily, proudly even. "I guess I'm used to it..."

This time, Akashi gazed up at her with a bemused look. "Used to it? You mean to say, you're used to bashing other people's skulls with your own?" His tone was sarcastic.

"Che. Does it really hurt that much?" she asked out of pure curiosity.

"What do you think?" was Akashi's flat reply.

"Heh... Aww, poor Seijuurou-kun," and she moved to pinch his cheek. Akashi saw through her actions and his reaction was to move his face away from her. However that single movement caused Kimiko to lose her balance as she slid off her perch on the narrow armrest and into Akashi's lap. She yelped as she realized their new position and hurriedly tried to get off by throwing herself backward.

"...!..."

Before she could end up hurting herself though, Akashi's arms wrapped around her slender frame, pulling her close to him — too close, for when she looked up at him, their noses were almost touching, their lips mere centimeters apart.

She drew back her chin nervously. Akashi was looking down at her intently, and for some reason, she found it hard to breath. Her heart was pounding in her chest, its beating like thunder in her ears.

She squirmed under his gaze, yet his hold on her did not loosen.

"Akumi," Akashi whispered, his warm breath fanning over her lips as he spoke her name. She met his eyes, and found herself trapped under his heated gaze.

"Seijuurou...?" she whispered back as they stared at each other unblinkingly, though why the hell they were whispering to one another, Kimiko has no idea.

"Don't move," and before she could ask why, Akashi closed his eyes, dipped his head down and captured her lips with his.

Gold eyes widened in shock as she felt the softness of Akashi's lips against hers, that she lay there unmoving in his arms while he kissed her. However, it wasn't long before she felt herself giving in, her eyelids fluttering close as she responded to the kiss. It was only instinct that was guiding her, for this was her first, but then Akashi was skillful enough to guide them both. They were soft, feathering kisses, but the moment she clutched his shoulders, Akashi pressed harder, one of his hands finding its way at the back of her head, chartreuse hair fisted in it. She felt him pull her head lightly downwards, but she was too lost to do anything but to oblige, even when Akashi tugged at her lower lip, asking for more. Deepening their kiss, Akashi pulled her closer, and they were so caught up in the moment that they only broke the kiss when she whimpered at the lack of air. Kimiko was panting lightly, her cheeks flushed a beautiful red, while Akashi was simply breathless over what had just happened.

She was the first to recover. Carefully disentangling herself from his arms, she stood up shakily, followed by an equally dazed Akashi, whose mind was still reeling over his impulsive action.

"What...?" she asked as she stepped away from him, an unreadable look on her face.

Akashi hurriedly stood up. Confusion was evident on his face, as well as remorse. "Akumi, I'm sorry. I-"

She shook her head at him. "No, don't-"

Akashi cut her off. "I think it's time for me to leave." Is she angry at him? He cannot decipher anything from her tone, and her face was hidden from view. He took a lungful of air and exhaled slowly. "Goodnight, Akumi."

He headed for the door, pausing to turn and look at her one last time. She remained frozen in place, but he saw her fingers touching her lips — the ones that he had kissed. He sighed, then murmured in a voice just loud enough for her to hear.

"See you on Saturday, Akumi."

And with that, he went out the door and into the cold February night. Inside the cab headed to the train station, Akashi nibbled at his lower lip. In spite of himself, a smirk tugged unbidden at the corner of his mouth as he recalled their kiss.

Now, that was something that he wouldn't mind doing again in the near future.

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The moment the redhead was out of her apartment, Kimiko's knees gave in and she sank to the floor. Covering her face with both of her hands, she mentally screamed, _What was that?!_

How did that even happen? They were just having their usual banter when she fell into him and the next thing she knew was that he was kissing her senseless. And how good Akashi is when it comes to kissing.

On that note, her eyes narrowed. Does that mean that he has experience? No one told her that he had a girlfriend before, right?

 _Right?_

Kimiko just hoped that the answer to that was NO. Because she'll be damned if she let anyone who had kissed another girl before to just steal a kiss from her unscathed — Akashi Seijuurou or not.

 _It was my first kiss, damn it._

 _But hey, it was a damn good one._

Kimiko groaned. _What am I even thinking? I just shared a kiss with Seijuurou, of all people! Why him? Why?!_

She turned to the coffee table and banged her head on the glass surface, only to regret it afterwards.

"Owww," she whimpered, feeling a bit lightheaded. _I wonder if his forehead hurt as much as mine does right now._

And then she muttered. "I guess that's enough punishment for stealing my first kiss, Bakashi."

That night, Kimiko went to bed oddly satisfied and pleased with herself. As she burrowed into her pillows, all she thought before she fell asleep was this.

 _I'll just worry about it in the morning. Right now, I need to sleep._

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 **** Kyoto, Japan ****

 **京都** **、** **日本**

He can't sleep.

In the darkness of the lavish bedroom, the only thing that's visible was the LED display of the clock his bedside table, flashing the numbers 1:27 AM in bright red light.

 _Why did I kiss her?_ Friends don't kiss each other on the lips, no matter how close they are to one another — physically, mentally, emotionally. Friends don't do that.

 _ **But boyfriends do that to their girlfriends all the time.**_

 _That's a different matter._

 _ **She doesn't seem to be angry at us**_ **,** the Emperor mused. Contrary to what the others believed, his second persona did not vanish, but had merely switched places with him, so that this time, the Emperor is now part of the audience instead of taking the center stage. Oh, he has his moments when he tries to steal the spotlight, just like when he cornered Kimiko the moment she entered the apartment, but good thing is that he wasn't as vicious and reckless as before. However there are times when the line dividing the two of them becomes blurred that there seemed to be only one of them, which only happens whenever a certain chartreusette joins the picture.

 _I guess it hasn't sunk in yet_ , Akashi replied. He wondered what she was doing right now... Hopefully Kimiko won't start making a voodoo doll or something.

His other self snickered at his thoughts. _ **A voodoo doll is fine as long as she tucks it in with her to bed and kisses it goodnight.**_

 _Be quiet,_ Akashi snapped. _Has Aomine gotten to you?_ His other self sobered up, muttering something about him having no sense of humor. As an afterthought, he added, _**Oh well, I'd rather have the real thing.**_

Akashi's eyes flew open, sending his other self back under. He looked at the time. Deciding that it was too late for him to try and get some sleep, Akashi rose from his bed and went to continue the game of _go_ that had been sitting in the corner of his room for a week now.

Later during their morning training, Rakuzan's basketball club would wonder why their captain looked like he had other thoughts in his head other than the very important Nationals which by the way was only days away. And they would have killed their lovely shooting guard for asking Akashi about it, for he only tripled their training for the day for an answer. He was actually going to quintuple it — but was spared since he won't have his soldiers be worn out already before they got to the actual battle.

Their punishment can wait.

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— **木** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **4** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

It was eight o'clock when Kimiko awoke from her slumber. She stayed in bed for about five minutes, stretching her arms out as she yawned.

"What a weird dream," she said out loud to the four walls of her bedroom, her fingers touching her lips as her cheeks flushed a beautiful red as she recalled the way her dream-Akashi kissed her so passionately. Still in her wine-red nightgown, she ambled out of her room, heading for the kitchen where she made herself some toast to go with her morning coffee, which she brought with her to the living room. Turning to the coffee table, she hummed in question at the magazine innocently lying there, its pages opened to the part featuring Kise and her.

She stared at it as she bit down on a piece of toast. "That's odd... Did I unknowingly carried it home with me?" she wondered. Kise said his manager had lent it to him — or was it given? She shrugged as she continued with her eating. "I'll just return it to him later then," finding the perfect excuse to visit Kanagawa later that day.

Out of nowhere, she remembered Kasamatsu whacking Kise on the back of the head with a rolled-up duplicate of the thing on her table on their way to the station yesterday.

She nodded to herself. Kasamatsu have Kise's copy of the magazine. He must have returned it to him before they went to their own homes.

 _Then, where did this come from...?_

"Think, Akumi, think."

Aside from Kise who is a model and thus privy to such things, who else among her friends has the capability to get their hands on an unreleased copy of a renowned magazine in Japan?

The answer came to her in a split-second. She choked on her coffee, followed by an ungraceful shriek of "NOOOOOOOO!" as she realized that THE dream was not really a dream, but as real as the material evidence before her.

Oh, and there's the ice pack lying carelessly beside her foot. Her eyes went to the wall where she remembered placing the bat that she was supposed to use as a weapon.

 _There it is._

She was starting to panic. The bat, the magazine, the ice pack.

"So, so that means Se-Seijuurou was he-here last night?" she stuttered in disbelief.

"The head butt—"

—her hand went to her forehead which was a little sore from being bashed on the table—

"—the kiss—"

—her hand dropped to her trembling lips—

"...it... it REALLY HAPPENED?!"

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 **** Kanagawa, Japan ****

 **神奈川** **、** **日本**

It was lunch break when Kise's phone rang with Kimiko's ring tone. Kise had this habit of assigning a different ring tone to each of his contacts. Putting down his chopsticks, he excused himself from his companions — his teammates — and answered the call with a cheerful "Heya, Akumicchi! Howdy do?" He then paused, "Akumicchi, are you—are you crying?!" When she sniffed, he panicked, "A-AKUMICCHI, WHA-WHAT HAPP—"

" **Ryou-kun, you left your magazine with me yesterday, didn't you?"**

"Ha?" The magazine? Kise looked around and saw Moriyama admiring her pictures in it. "Ah, no... It's here with me right now... Why do you ask, Akumicchi?"

Her strangled voice came after a few seconds. " **...So it was really true..**."

Kise was growing even more bewildered. "What was _true_ , Akumicchi? Akumicchi?"

 **"...He really kissed me..."**

 _...KISS?!_

"Who—who kissed you, Akumicchi?!"

However, Kimiko seemed to have forgotten about as she continued with her dazed mumble.

 **"...Seijuurou really did kissed me..."**

Kise almost fell out of his chair in shock. His teammates were looking at him oddly.

"AKASHICCHI DID WHAAAAAAAT?!"

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	23. 第23章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **23** **章**

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— **木** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **4** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Kyoto, Japan ****

 **京都** **、** **日本**

Akashi opened his eyes as he listened to Mibuchi's usual lunchtime prattle. They were done eating, except Nebuya, that is. He clasped his fingers and rested his hands on the table.

"...of course, they are in love!"

Hayama snorted. "How is that even possible? They've only just met..."

"And they were enemies in the first place! If it was a basketball game, I'd say that they are on opposite sides of the court," Nebuya grumbled, shoving a burger in his mouth.

Mayuzumi shot him a flat look. _No shit._ "We know what the word enemies' mean; you don't have to say the second part."

"But isn't it possible to be friends even though you're enemies? Like, on-court, they're enemies, but off-court, they're friends?" Hayama asked.

Mibuchi stopped to think. He glanced at Akashi, then back to Hayama. "Of course, that's applicable to basketball, but I'm not sure if that applies to war or politics as well." He leaned back in his chair. "That aside, why can't you just accept the fact that they are indeed in love?"

"Because they aren't!"

"Ko-chan, just shut up."

"I won't!" came Hayama's protest. A challenging look was in his eyes. "Not unless you can offer a sound explanation on how they fell in love with each other in just three days."

"But love isn't like that!" Mibuchi moaned.

"Then what is it like?" Rakuzan's small forward shot back.

Somehow, Hayama's question sparked Akashi's curiosity. Enough for him to break his silence.

"Indeed, Mibuchi, what is it like?" he said, surprising everyone when he joined their conversation.

"Wh-what do you mean, Se-Sei-chan?" Mibuchi stuttered, feeling his captain's piercing gaze on his person.

"How do you know if a person is in love?"

.

.

.

Cue awkward silence and weird stares from his team members.

Of course, when do you hear Akashi Seijuurou asking casually about love?

Never.

.

.

.

Except today.

.

.

.

"Pinch me," Mibuchi whispered to Mayuzumi, eyes wide as saucers.

 _PAK!_

"I said, _Pinch_ _me_!'" Mibuchi screamed, rubbing the back of his head where Mayuzumi had whacked him with his light novel. The phantom merely shrugged.

"It hurts, right?" Mibuchi nodded. "Then it served the same purpose, doesn't it?"

Meanwhile, Hayama and Nebuya punched each other at the same time.

"Fuck, it hurts!"

"IT'S REAL!"

At the head of the table, Akashi leveled a menacing look at his teammates and they immediately stopped their antics.

"Just answer the question, Mibuchi."

 _Their demon captain was back._

"Ah, well..." Mibuchi struggled to find the words to explain it properly to Akashi. "It's simple, really..."

"Is it, really?" Mayuzumi murmured beside him, but Mibuchi ignored him.

"When you're in love with someone, you want that person to be always by your side. By simply being with that person, you feel happy, like you're walking on cloud nine. You feel complete — the kind of feeling you get when you finally find that something that you've been looking for for so long. You feel strong — strong enough to take on everything or anything that the world throws in your way. You feel secure and safe. That person's happiness is your happiness as well. You want to protect that person, because when that person gets hurt, you get hurt as well. It's like you're sharing emotions. Of course, you would want protect that person because that person is the one to whom you've entrusted to take care of your heart."

Akashi was silent as he took in Mibuchi's words.

Still he has to make sure.

 _One more question, then._

"How does it happen?"

Mibuchi blinked, the thoughtful expression on his face replaced by one of surprise and confusion.

"Huh?"

Once again, Akashi ignored his teammates' stares, especially Mayuzumi's.

"How does a person fall in love?"

"You're awfully inquisitive about this, Akashi," the gray-haired male said, opening his light novel.

"Could it be that Captain is — ITAI! WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM, MUSCLE GORILLA?!"

"Are you suicidal?!"

"What — Oh." Hayama laughed nervously as he realized that Akashi might have killed him for asking that question.

 _Akashi Seijuurou?_

 _In love?_

 _Yeah, when hell freezes over._

"I owe you one," he muttered to Nebuya.

Akashi cleared his throat, and Mibuchi jumped in his seat.

"R-right! Just a minute, Sei-chan...!" he cried. _Geez, Sei-chan is too demanding_... Akashi closed his eyes, waiting for him to answer the question.

With much hesitation, Mibuchi began. "The truth is, I don't know the answer to that..."

Piercing ruby eyes glared sharply at him.

"BUT! That's the way it is supposed to be!" Mibuchi continued, hoping that this will somehow appease the redhead.

And maybe it did, because Akashi raised an eyebrow in interest and nodded at him to continue.

Mibuchi sighed in relief. "To put it simply, love happens naturally, without you noticing it. It's like waking up in the morning and you suddenly realize that you truly love that person. Love is not logical — you love someone just because you love them. You don't love someone because you find them attractive, or wealthy, or intelligent, or something. Love doesn't have to have reasons or explanations. It just happens. At least, that's how true love works — no causes, no ulterior motives..." Fearing that he was sounding stupid, he nervously asked the contemplating Akashi, "People fall in love without reason. Without even wanting to. You can't predict it. That's love... D-do I make sense, Sei-chan?"

To and utter surprise for the third time, Akashi was smiling as if he had just figured out the answer to the world's most complex puzzle. Mibuchi felt his heart skip a beat.

His teammates was thinking of the same thing.

"Yes, Mibuchi, your words make perfect sense." However, Akashi seemed to be somewhere far away, his thoughts wandering to something else. And before they could ask him about it, the bell rang, signaling the end of their lunch break.

 _Not again_ , Mibuchi thought. He remembered a similar incident, when the three of them — Hayama, Nebuya and him — had challenged Akashi to prove his winning streak. It was during the game of poker when Mibuchi had asked Akashi about his life in Teikou, and the enigmatic red-haired male looked like he was about to say something about an important person in his life when Nebuya had interrupted, breaking the spell and thus preventing Mibuchi from learning more about their secretive captain.

Mibuchi felt like screaming in frustration.

 _Oh well, better luck next time, then... I wonder when will that be?_

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Akashi thought about Mibuchi's words over and over until he arrived home. Sipping his evening tea in the private comfort of his room, they still echoed in his head, giving him lots of things to reflect on.

 _Love..._ He toyed with the cup in his hand, and recalled his phone call with Kimiko after his father spoke to him about his participation the Nationals tournament.

The one where she had asked him if he loves her.

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— **火** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **2** **日** **)** **—**

 _It's just like him to get in the way of my happiness, Akashi thought as he retired for the night. His high spirits from spending time with his beloved horse were quickly dampened by his father's words. He suddenly felt tired and weary of everything. He needs a reprieve._

 _Her_ __ _phone rang three times before she picked it up. There was a rustling sound and Kimiko's slightly muffled and sleepy voice came over. Suddenly, Akashi felt guilty for calling at twelve midnight. No one with a sane mind does that._

 _But then again, Akashi Seijuurou never considered himself as a perfectly sane person, either._

 _Still, he felt bad._

 _In his head, he could see her sprawled on her bed, lifting the phone lazily to her ear._ **"Moshi moshi~ Kimiko Akumi speaking~"**

 _Akashi's lips quirked in a soft smile. She didn't even bother looking at the caller ID. However, it vanished as he realized that he was disturbing her rest. "Akumi," he said as he laid his head on his pillow._

 **"Hmmm?"** __ _she mumbled sleepily, then as realization sink in, she said in a surprised voice,_ **"Seijuurou!"**

 _"Sorry. I probably woke you up?"_

 **"...Not really. I was just about to sleep, though. Why?"**

 _"Nothing." I just wanted to hear your voice. "I'm sorry. I will hung up now so you can rest."_

 **"Well, I won't probably be able to sleep right away, so maybe we can just talk until one of us falls asleep** _ **,"**_ _she suggested._

 _"How have you been?" Akashi asked after a short pause. Already he could feel a bit lighter._

 **"Hmmm, I'm fine. I visited Teiko earlier — they're headed for the Nationals this year as well. Shirogane-san sends his regards, by the way."**

 _"Teiko has won the InterHigh even after we graduated."_

 **"No surprise there – Coach Shirogane trains his players like hell."**

 _Akashi smirked as he recited their former coach's favorite saying. "Nothing kills the young, or so he says."_

 _Kimiko laughed._

 **"How about you, Seijuurou? How was your day?"**

 _One of the things that Akashi missed about Kimiko is the little conversations they have, just like this. Those four words take on a different meaning when they are coming from her. What sounds so annoying coming from his father's mouth has a different tune when Kimiko is the one saying it. Same question, but the difference was like night and day. His father's was cold as ice, hers was warm as fire._

 _"It was fine. My teammates have taken to stalking me whenever I'm holding my phone."_

 **"Somehow, I'm excited to meet your teammates... They seem like an interesting bunch."**

 _"A center who talks like he has a built-in megaphone in his throat, a shooting guard who thinks that he is a lady, a small forward who's always on a sugar high, and a phantom who reads light novels about aliens... An interesting bunch indeed."_

 **"Not much of a difference from our team in Teiko, ne?"**

 _"Aa."_

 **"So what is your problem, really?"**

 _When he didn't reply, she gave an indignant snort._ _ **"**_ **Seijuurou, I told you before, didn't I? If you have a problem, you can always talk to me about it."** __ _Another period of silence._ _ **"**_ **C'mon, Seijuurou... Is it... It's your father, isn't it?"**

 _Akashi sighed, and Kimiko gave a triumphant "Ha!" He can already see her grinning smugly._

 **"What did he do to you this time?"**

 _Akashi suddenly felt like laughing at himself._ Seriously, Seijuurou _... He shifted uncomfortably on his bed. "It's nothing, really," he said, trying to dissuade her from pursuing the topic, even though he perfectly knows he won't succeed._

 **"It's about the Nationals, isn't it?"**

 _Akashi gave up. God knows how Kimiko is once her curiosity has been stoked. And he never liked being interrogated, especially when she's the one asking the questions. He might end up saying something that he'd rather not let her know. He can't even lie to her._

 _"Nothing's changed with Father and his expectations. As an Akashi, he expects me to win the championship. My loss at the Winter Cup made him to be greatly disappointed with me. He said that if..." Akashi trailed off. He shook his head and forced himself to continue, "If I didn't, he'll send me abroad, and it's goodbye to basketball as well." He let out a weary sigh. "Not that I am pressured by it — all my life I was expected to be the best in everything I do — I just... sometimes I just feel tired from it all. I don't know if it's worth it."_

 _Kimiko was silent on the other end of the line. Maybe she has fallen asleep, and Akashi was grateful for that. At least, she didn't hear what he had said — especially the last part._

 _Unfortunately, she was still awake._

 **"Seijuurou?"**

 _"Hm?"_

 _ **"**_ **Thank you** _ **."**_ _Akashi blinked._ Thank you for what _?_ _ **"**_ **Thank you for telling me this** _ **."**_ _Things like this are not what Akashi would just tell everyone — not even Kuroko, who was understanding most of the time — and that's already saying something. He smiled to himself as he understood it then._

 _Trust._

 _Breathing becomes easier whenever she's with him. And just the simple act of telling her all this seemed to lighten his burden considerably. He became a bit calmer, his thoughts a bit clearer._

 _Kimiko's voice retained its usual cheer and mischievousness as she giggled, bringing normalcy back to their conversation._ _ **"**_ **Oh, come on — I can't believe he said that to you. I mean, against them, I'd still place my bet on for the championship title for this year's Nationals. And I'm not saying this to comfort you or whatever. It's a fact. And I'm not playing favorites, either. Don't go doubting yourself now, Captain."** _The last part was stated cheekily, reminding him of the times when he constantly reminded her not to call him that as it irks him strangely when she refers to him as such. It gives him a vague sense of alienation, as if his position in the team was somehow a barrier between them. And he hates it._

 _But this time it did not — strangely, the thing that had done nothing but irritate him in the past had become a sort of solace for him. Instead of becoming a barrier, it became the string that held him to her. And somehow, knowing that Kimiko had complete and utter faith in him is just overwhelming, because it is faith based not on his abilities or his ancestry, but based on who he is as a person._

 _"It's Seijuurou to you, Akumi."_

 _ **"**_ **Hai, hai,** _ **"**_ _she answered with a laugh. Then her voice turned serious again._ **"Seijuurou, I know it is rude — foolish even — of me to say this, but you know, I really hate your father."**

 _This surprised Akashi, of course._

 **"I hate him for even considering the possibility that you would even lose in the Nationals when he should've been putting his trust in you, and for even threatening to take away the most precious thing your mother has given you. Why does he do that?"**

 _"His actions are justified by the belief that we Akashis are absolute in everything we do. I've failed once already — he has reason enough to doubt me."_

 **"But still! How can be so heartless? Would it kill him to let you know that he is proud for having a son like you? Would it go against your family motto if he would just show the least of a fatherly love to you?"**

 _"It was the way that we were brought up to be."_

 **"So you mean to say that such loveless upbringing is an Akashi thing?"**

 _"Yes, it seems to be the case. That or he was just as obsessed with perfection and victory just like all the Akashis before him." He winced inwardly when he remembered that he had once been like that, too._

 _There was a rustling as she shifted in her bed._ _ **"**_ **Hey, maybe you'll be the one to change that!** _ **"**_ _she suggested enthusiastically._ **"You will be the one to change the Akashi family for the better. Someone who'll introduce the concept of love to them. Ne?"**

 _Akashi snorted. "I don't think me and love will get along quite well."_ I haven't even thought about marriage yet.

 **"Oh please, you're the most caring person I've ever met — it's just that you have a unique way of expressing it. You love selflessly — too selfless that it's bad for you sometimes. You just don't see it — you're too busy looking out for others to look at yourself and notice."**

 _"I —"_

 **"You love me, right?"**

 _His eyes widened at her sudden question, and Akashi was thankful that they were talking on the phone and not face-to-face because he was not sure how to answer that._

Do I?

 _Before he could even ponder on that thought, Kimiko continued,_ _ **"**_ **And you love the team also. And we love you as well. We're 'family'. Family love each other, right? Even though your blood family is really not that great... So don't tell me that you're incapable of such a thing. Even your hair color states otherwise."**

 _He suddenly felt stupid._ Of course, that's what she meant. Familial love, of course, of course — friendship, companionship, camaraderie — of course. _What kind of_ love _was Akashi thinking when she said that about the two of them? He brought a hand to his crimson hair._

Well, red stands for love, passion... And anger. And war. And violence. _He wondered how the same color can represent such two conflicting ideas at the same time._

 _"I do. I do love you."_ Though I am not sure in what context of the word _. "And the team," he added almost as an afterthought. Akashi loves Kimiko as a friend, as family, but whether or not he loves her more than that, he's still not quite sure._

How does one even find out?

 _Because Akashi was somehow curious as to what the answer might be._

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— **木** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **4** **日** **)** **—**

However, after listening to Mibuchi's explanations, if they were indeed true (it seemed that he has to trust his friend's words on this), then it seems that Akashi already has it figured out.

Later that night, he would sleep contentedly with a smile on his lips and a peaceful look on his face. And the last thought he would have before he falls asleep would be, _So that's how it is. Funny how I realized all this just now._

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 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

"KUROKOCCHI!"

Kagami frowned at Kaijou's ace who suddenly materialized at their school gates. _What the hell is he doing here? Don't they have practice_?

Seirin's training has just ended.

Beside the tall redhead, Kuroko stopped and stared at Kise, who was looking mildly distressed. "Is something the matter, Kise-kun?"

"Kurokocchi, can I talk to you in private? It's about Akumicchi..."

Kuroko glanced up at his light. "Kagami-kun—"

"Sure, sure," Kagami replied, for once able to read the situation. Even though he and Kuroko are friends, there is always that something between the phantom and the _Kiseki no Sedai_ that separates them from the rest — something like a mythical bond... "I'll be going to Maji's, then. Ja."

"See you tomorrow, Kagami-kun."

"Ah," and he went on his way, leaving the shadow with the copycat.

"So, Kise-kun, what is it that you want to talk to me about?" Kuroko asked as he followed Kise to who knows where.

"Let's get to Midorimacchi first. Then I'll explain everything," Kise replied, totally serious. Kuroko was curious. If Kise was like this, then it must be something major. He remembered Kise mentioning their former training manager-slash-coach. "Did something bad happened to Akumi-san?"

Kise fiddled with his phone in his pocket. "I don't know if what happened was exactly good or bad... Oh, there he is — Midorimacchi!"

Sure enough, there by a light post near the intersection stood Shutoku's shooting guard, a slightly wilted rose dangling from his right hand. Hearing Kise's voice, Midorima looked up, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his fingers, and acknowledged the newcomers once they were within hearing distance.

"Kise, explain," Midorima demanded, a bit annoyed at having to rush after practice just because of a hysterical blond.

"Can we sit down first?" Kise asked, seeing as this could turn into a lengthy discussion.

Kuroko, ever observant, pointed ahead of them. "There's a children's park over there. By this time, it must be vacant. We can talk there privately."

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Perched on their individual turtle statues, Kise began to speak. "So, this lunch break, Akumicchi suddenly called me while I was with Kasamatsu-senpai, Moriyama-senpai, Kobori-sen—"

Midorima interjected. "We get it Kise, you were with your team. Then?"

Kise huffed at being interrupted in his narration. "Okay, so I greeted Akumicchi and asked her how was she doing when she suddenly asked me about the magazine. She was wondering if I somehow left it with her but when I said no, she suddenly sniffed and began mumbling strange things. Something about Akashicchi kissing her and —"

 _THUD!_

Kise cast a nonchalant glance at his friends who had fallen off the turtle statues and nodded as if in agreement. He looked up at the sky. "Yes, that was my reaction as well. I can't believe that Akashicchi could do such a thing. Don't you think so?" He looked back at them and only then did he came to his senses.

His eyes widened as he looked down on the two who was struggling to sit up.

"MIDORIMACCHI! KUROKOCCHI! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!"

And in his panic to get down and help them, Kise slipped and fell down as well.

"AAAAAH...!"

"Kise-kun, you're too loud," Kuroko grunted.

Midorima scoffed. "Serves you right, idiot."

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When the trio had recovered, they decided to sit down on the benches instead of going back up there.

"What now?" Kise wondered out loud.

"Akumi-san might not be pleased with you sharing it to us," Kuroko said.

Midorima hummed in agreement. "Akashi won't be pleased either."

Kise shuddered as he thought of the ways his former captain could use to kill him.

"But Akumicchi sounded like she was crying! I'm just trying to help her!"

Kuroko sighed. This is indeed troublesome. The trio paused as they thought of the best thing to do in this kind of situation. After a moment, the blonde's scared whisper reached their ears.

"Do you think Akashicchi f-forced Akumicchi, ne?"

Midorima glared at him. "Akashi wouldn't do such a thing."

"Midorima-kun is right. That is below Akashi-kun."

"B-but—"

"Kise-kun," Kuroko said, a warning tone in his voice. "Akashi-kun won't do that to Akumi-san."

Still, he wasn't convinced. Kise stood up from his seat and faced them. "Have you forgotten how Akashicchi used to corner Akumicchi back then? There are several times when I thought he was going to kiss her!"

Kuroko and Midorima frowned at that. Of course, Kise was talking about Akashi's other self, who was overly possessive over the chartreusette, using all kinds of manipulation and even threatening her when Kimiko tried to leave the club during their last year in Teikou. Akashi's other self seemed to have taken a liking to backing Kimiko against a wall or just simply pulling her to him when the girl was being her rebellious and stubborn self.

The bluenette shook his head. "Kise-kun, Akashi-kun is not like that anymore."

"Fine," Kise muttered after some time. "But how do we explain their actions?"

Surprisingly, Midorima was calm about the whole thing. At Kise's question, he sneered at Kise. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed it when we were still in Teikou?"

"Hah? What do you mean, Midorimacchi?"

"Hmp, and you tell me I am dense..." he said, recalling the time when Kise had called him 'blind' for not realizing Momoi's feelings for Kuroko.

"Then please, Midorima-kun, tell us."

An indiscernible look passed in Midorima's viridian eyes. Twirling the stem of the rose now devoid of thorns in his fingers, he closed his eyes as he enlightened his oblivious companions.

And for once, he was straight to the point, no beating around the bushes or hiding behind cryptic words.

"Akashi and Kimiko are in love with each other. They just haven't realize it yet. Or maybe they have already, but haven't acknowledged it for some reasons."

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That afternoon, Kimiko was somehow expecting Kise to come over to her apartment to ask her for more details on the—that thing— that happened between her and Akashi. Sitting on the floor of her living room, her back to the side of the couch, she stared lifelessly at the far wall, too tired to do anything.

She's still unsure on what to think of the kiss. Heck, she's not even sure on how she was supposed to react! True, she found it funny at first, but then, that's because her mind was not properly working that's time. After Akashi kissed her, she had been feeling like she was high or something.

On that comparison, she groaned and buried her face on the coach. _Just great — now I'm thinking that Seijuurou is some kind of a drug. Maybe thinking is a bad thing as well — I just keep on having all these outrageous ideas._

"Pull yourself together, Akumi," she growled to herself, standing up. Deciding that doing household chores might help keep her mind away from _that_ incident, and so she busied herself with cleaning the whole apartment, which only took her a few minutes, much to her annoyance. She tackled her laundry next, which was sadly only several pieces of clothing, easily taken care of in just half an hour. Standing in her kitchen, she saw the refrigerator and got an idea.

 _Grocery shopping._

A quick shower and Kimiko was off to the nearest supermarket.

Once there, though, she immediately regretted her decision.

 _I take back what I said. Maybe I should have stayed at home._

What reminded Kimiko of Akashi was buying tofu in the supermarket. She was choosing them when the thought of Akashi came to her quite naturally. She was not really that fond of tofu but ever since he came into her life, she somehow acquired his love of tofu, even learning how to cook his favorite tofu soup. Before she knew it, she was standing there, lost in a daydream. How long this went on, she had no idea, but a woman's voice saying, "Excuse me" brought her back. She was blocking access to the tofu section.

Kimiko stopped daydreaming, apologized to the woman, dropped the pack of tofu into her shopping basket, and brought it to the cashier along with her other groceries—shrimp, milk, vegetables, and crackers.

While waiting in line at the cash register, Kimiko found her thoughts drifting to him once again. She was still figuring out the reason behind the kiss and the only logical explanation that she could think of was that Akashi had feelings for her.

 _NO!_ She mentally shouted, shaking her head. The thought was just absurd. _Seijuurou can't possibly... right?_

 _Right?_

 _He did say he was sorry..._

At least that's what she found after hours of searching the answer on the internet.

 _The internet is an not a reliable source,_ she finally decided as she stared at the search results displayed on her laptop screen _. I'll never trust Google again._

 _But why does it hurt to think that he didn't mean to kiss her after all?_

Akashi never confessed to her, that much was certain, and they had continued their close-friends-by-label-but-more-like-lovers-by-behavior-but-not-quite relationship all the way until Akashi changed. Kimiko was not sure if she should include the claims of the Emperor about her being his empress. The memory brought a sudden shiver through her as she remembered the insane look in those gold and crimson orbs as he told her that.

 _I don't want to see that side of Akashi ever again._

She sighed. _All this thinking is making my head ache. Just why in the world did Seijuurou kiss me?!_

Kimiko's thoughts had reached this point when the cashier picked up her grocery basket.

She went back to her apartment with a bag of groceries in her arms. Changing into shorts and a tank top, she proceeded to the kitchen and began preparing dinner.

Kimiko wondered. _But what if he does? Love me, that is... What am I going to do? What SHOULD I do?_

Absentmindedly, she chopped a lot of ginger to a fine consistency. Then she sliced some celery and mushrooms into nice-sized pieces. The Chinese parsley, too, she chopped up finely. She peeled the shrimp and washed them at the sink. Spreading a paper towel, she laid the shrimp out in neat rows, like troops in formation. Next she warmed a large frying pan and dribbled in some sesame oil and spread it over the bottom. She slowly fried the chopped ginger over a low flame.

 _I wish I could meet see Seijuurou right now,_ Kimiko started thinking again. _Then hopefully, we'll get this mess all sorted out. But at the same time, I'm scared — scared that it will change everything between us_.

She shook her head.

 _I hope not._

She put the sliced celery and mushrooms into the frying pan. Turning the gas flame up to high and lightly jogging the pan, she carefully stirred the contents with a bamboo spatula, adding a sprinkle of salt and pepper. When the vegetables were just beginning to cook, she tossed the drained shrimp into the pan. After adding another dose of salt and pepper to the whole thing, she poured in a small glass of sake. Then a dash of soy sauce and finally a scattering of Chinese parsley. Kimiko performed all these operations on automatic pilot. This was not a dish that required complicated procedures: her hands moved on their own with precision, but her mind stayed focused on Akashi the whole time.

When the stir-fried shrimp and vegetables were ready, Kimiko transferred the food from the frying pan to a large platter.

 _Oopsies_ , she thought. _It seems like I made dinner enough for five people._

Lost in thought, she failed to notice the amount of food that she was cooking.

Sighing, she said out loud, "Oh well, what's done is done... I guess I'll just eat as much as I can then finish the rest tomorrow..."

She took a can of pineapple juice from the refrigerator, sat at the kitchen table, and, still lost in thought, proceeded to eat the steaming food.

Her doorbell rang.

Kimiko suddenly felt nervous. _What if it's Seijuurou? I can't face him yet!_ When the doorbell rang a second time, she took a deep breath and went to the door.

She closed her eyes, twisted the doorknob and pulled.

 _Please let it be Ryouta..._

A loud cry of "AKUMICCHI!" was enough confirmation.

She let out a sigh of relief before opening her eyes.

Only to see that Kise was not alone.

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	24. 第24章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

 **第** **24** **章**

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

— **木** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **4** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

Kimiko looked at them with a weary look. "I was kinda expecting you, you know..." she said to Kise, then glanced at Kuroko and Midorima behind him, "...but I never thought you'd bring an army."

Kise gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Akumicchi..."

She sighed in reply, then stepped aside to let them in. Raking a hand through her slightly messy hair, she led them to the kitchen after they deposited their bags in the couch in the living room.

"Fortunately, I made enough dinner for all of us," she said, her back to them as she got them plates and stuff. She told Kise to go make some juice for all of them while Kuroko went to get glasses. Midorima set the table.

Dinner was silent and awkward, to say the least. Kimiko kept spacing out, Kise for some reason kept squirming in his seat, Midorima is in his usual calm demeanor, while Kuroko kept his mouth shut while giving pointed looks at Kise, who was doing his best to ignore said phantom's looks.

By some unspoken agreement, Kise stayed behind with Kimiko while Kuroko and Midorima made themselves scarce by fleeing to the living room almost immediately, ignoring the panicked look on Kise's face when he saw them leave. Before they were totally out the kitchen, Kise could've sworn that Kuroko had indeed flashed him a thumbs-up and a slightly encouraging smile.

And then they were gone.

Leaving him and Kimiko alone.

 _Why do I have to be the one to do this?!_ he yelled in his mind.

 _"Because Kise-kun is the only one who can pull it off," Kuroko said, Midorima nodding beside him. For once, the two were actually agreeing with each other._

 _"Do it for Kimiko's sake, Kise," Midorima added when Kise looked like he was about to argue further._

 _"B-b-but Akumicchi might get mad at me!" he wailed. Unfortunately, his protests fell on deaf ears._

 _"I'm sure she will understand after we explain it to her," Midorima countered._

 _"Are you sure that this plan will really work?" Kise turned to the blue-haired mastermind. "Is there really no other way?!"_

 _"No, there isn't" was the deadpan response._

 _Just what did I get myself into?_ Kise stared at Kimiko, who had her back to him as she wiped the table with a piece of cloth. He gritted his teeth and apologized to her in his head. _Sorry, Akumicchi. You can blame Kurokocchi afterwards._

"Ano, Akumicchi," he began awkwardly, and the girl turned to face him with an inquisitive look on her face.

"Yes, Ryou-kun?" For some reason, he felt a twinge of pain when she called him that.

He inhaled deeply, then let it out slowly. "That—that thing you mentioned in your call... Did it...Did it really happen?"

Kise had always imagined the chartreusette blushing, but even his imagination can't even compare to the actual thing. At the recollection of last night's incident, a beautiful shade of red graced the girl's porcelain cheeks as she struggled to remain her composure in front of him.

 _Red definitely suits Akumicchi,_ was what came to Kise's mind.

"W-well, y-yes," Kimiko stuttered, averting her eyes as she fiddled with the cloth in her hands. She sighed then continued in a small voice, so unlike the cool and composed yet slighly mischievous and demonic girl that Kise had come to know, "I don't know why Seijuurou did that, though..."

A part of Kise was screaming "So cuuuuuuuuuteee!" while another part of him was bitterly telling him that Kimiko was acting like that not because of him but because of someone else — specifically a certain short redhaired captain who was currently in Kyoto.

 _The gods really hate me,_ Kise thought, willing himself to get back on doing his mission appointed to him by Kuroko.

"You don't know?" Kise asked in fake wonder, Midorima's theory echoing clearly in his ears. He felt his chest tighten as he waited for her answer.

Kimiko bit her lower lip nervously, perfectly unaware of its effect on Kise. With eyes fixed on an imaginary spot on the kitchen floor, she murmured just loud enough for the blonde to hear, "...I...I don't..."

 _...they just haven't realized it yet..._

There was a moment of silence, and in that period, Kimiko was able to regain some of her composure.

"Ha!" she exhaled loudly, then straightened her shoulders as she went over to the sink. As he watched, Kise was reminded of how she seemed to glide rather than walk — her movements were just too refined and elegant, and the fact that it seemed to come naturally to her amazed him to no end — an aspect she shares with Akashi. Although unlike him, Kimiko also had her moments when her behavior can rival Aomine's in its roughness.

Wordlessly, she started washing the dishes while Kise remained standing awkwardly by the table. Suddenly, Kimiko called him out to her.

"Ryouta, could you—" she gestured to her hair with her soapy hands "—tie my hair? It gets in the way..."

"S-sure, Akumicchi!" _Anything for you._ "Uh, where's your hair tie?" he asked as he approached her.

Kimiko held out her arm to him, where a black hair tie was rolled up to her elbow so that it won't get wet. Kise carefully took it off and stood behind her, carefully gathering her long chartreuse hair in his hands. He marveled at the silkiness of her hair, how soft and how fragrant it was, and he couldn't help but to bring his face close to her head to take a sniff of her citrus-scented shampoo. Kimiko, who was soaping the dishes, noticed his actions and without turning her head, she asked him what he was doing sniffing her hair.

"A-ah! Akumicchi smells like oranges!" Kise said, laughing, though his heartbeat was probably going a mile a minute.

He heard her giggle. "Sometimes, you remind me of a dog..."

"Akumicchi, that's mean..."

"I don't mean it in a bad way, though," she said as Kise resumed to tying her hair into a high ponytail. When he was done, he moved to her side and proceeded to help dry the dishes.

"Then what does Akashicchi remind you of?"

Her hands stilled for a second, making Kise to look at her face. Kimiko had a fond expression on her face, and her eyes look like she was staring at something far away.

The pain in Kise's chest came again.

"Seijuurou reminds me of a cat."

The plate in Kise's hands almost slipped out from hia shock. He was expecting her to say "lion" or a "dragon" or some other intimidating creature but—

"A c-cat...?!" he exclaimed in disbelief. The only thing that his former captain shares with said creature was probably their sizes.

The girl nodded, smiling. "Yep, a cat."

"But why a cat? Why not a lion? Or a dragon?"

"Because Seijuurou definitely acts and looks like one," she explained cheerfully. "All graceful and light on their feet... Proud, aristocratic creatures... Perfectly adorable, affectionate beings. Don't you think so?"

"Erm..." Kise couldn't quite see Akashi as adorable and affectionate, though. _But if it's with Akumicchi, well, anything's possible..._

Kimiko laughed at Kise's reaction.

They finished washing the dishes and she had just closed the door of the refrigerator after placing the rest of the food in there when all of a sudden, Kise grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head, her back to the refrigerator.

Golden eyes met amber ones.

"Ryou-kun, what are you—"

Kise's eyes darkened as he stared at her, his grip tightening as she struggled to free herself.

"Why...?" he trailed off, unable to continue further lest he say something he shouldn't.

"Why what...?" Kimiko questioned, feeling uneasy at the blonde's unnerving gaze. She'd never seen Kise act like this, and she was close to freaking out.

She gasped as he pressed his body against hers, pushing her back into the cold metal.

"—Ryouta...!"

"Akumicchi...," he muttered in a pained whisper.

Despite her confusion, she managed to say a shaky, "Yes...?"

With one hand, Kise cupped the side of her face, trailing his fingers down her cheek, stopping at her chin. He tilted her face upwards to bring it closer to his, locking his gaze with hers.

"Do you love Akashicchi...?"

Her mouth flew open at the sudden question.

"—What?" she choked out.

Her eyes widened as he brought his face to hers.

"Do you love Akashicchi, Akumicchi?" Kise whispered slowly at the corner of her lips.

She didn't see the pained look on his face.

"I... I don't... I don't know!" The last word was stated rather forcefully, meant to drive the blonde away from her. "Ryouta, let me go! Just what are you doing?!"

Kise heaved a sigh, his breath warm against the side of her face.

"Ne, Akumicchi, what if Akashicchi is the one doing this to you?" he asked, pulling away, his voice so soft that if not for their close proximity, she wouldn't have been able to hear him.

If Kimiko was confused at Akashi's actions, then Kise's had her completely bewildered. She could hear the pure anger in his voice. She could feel his body shaking since it was pressed against hers so tightly.

"Why would you ask something like that?"

In response, Kise pressed his forehead to hers, imitating Akashi's actions during the night of Kuroko's birthday. He watched her reaction as he ran a hand down her arm in a featherlight caress.

"Just answer the question, Akumi," he murmured, copying Akashi's way of speaking.

Effectively making Kimiko to do what he wanted her to do.

In her muddled head, it was not Kise's voice that spoke to her, but Akashi's.

Her blush returned to her face.

A reaction that Kise knows was due to the fact that she was seeing Akashi instead of him.

Kise couldn't take it any more. Cursing his feelings for the chartreusette — feelings that he had tried hard to forget — he pursed his lips to prevent himself from confessing right then and there. Bringing an end to his act, he released her and reverted back to his hyper and cheerful self despite feeling the exact opposite at the moment.

"You're blushing!" Kise laughed, pointing at her face. "There's your answer!"

Kimiko blinked at his sudden change, then slapped him playfully on the arm.

"You baka!" she growled. "I was close to freaking out, you know! And what do you mean... Answer to what?"

Kise painted a smile on his face. "Why don't we go to the living room so that Kurokocchi and Midorimacchi can explain it themselves?"

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"So, Tetsuya, Shintarou, anything to say?"

Two heads snapped up at the sound of her voice. She saw Kuroko gulp nervously while Midorima was fiddling nervously with his lucky item, which happened to be a _Pikachu_ doll.

Kimiko sat on the love seat while Kise joined the two on the couch. She crossed her arms and waited for someone to answer her question. "Well?"

"Kise, what was her reaction?" Midorima asked the blond quietly.

Instead of answering his question, Kise said almost lifelessly, "Your theory was right, Midorimacchi."

He stood up. To Kimiko, he said, "Ano, Akumicchi, I have to go — appointment with my manager and stuff. So, Kurokocchi, Midorimacchi, you know what to do! Ja ne!"

And before anyone can stop him, Kise was out the door without even waiting for them to say their goodbyes.

Knowing blue eyes followed him until he was out of their sight.

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"Ryouta told you," Kimiko stated humorlessly.

"Hai. We just wanted to help," Kuroko said.

"And it was just about time you realize it, nanodayo," Midorima muttered.

She narrowed her eyes at the green-haired boy. "Realize what, Shintarou?"

"Akashi-kun and Akumi-san are surprisingly dense."

"What was that, Tetsuya?" She raised a fine brow at the phantom's blunt statement.

Midorima pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He could already sense Kimiko's growing irritation. "We didn't mean to meddle with you and Akashi's personal affairs. We were merely worried for the two of you. Has Akashi already talked to you about it?"

Kimiko stared at him. Everyone was suddenly acting out of character. Akashi kissing her, Kise almost doing the same as Akashi, Midorima talking more than usual... What's next? Kuroko laughing like a madman?

"Akumi-san, has Akashi-kun called you already?"

"Huh?" A hand passing in front of her face shook her out of her thoughts. The question finally registered in her head, and she shook her head in reply.

"He's probably figuring it out himself as well," Midorima stated.

"If it's Akashi-kun, he's probably done figuring it out," Kuroko said with a hint of a smile.

At this, Kimiko groaned inwardly.

 _Just what is happening with the people around me?_

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"Ryou-chan, what are you doing out late?" his older sister said as he passed her in the living room on the way to his bedroom.

"Nothing," he mumbled, eager to go to his room already. He wanted to be alone right now.

His sister saw his depressed state and she was instantly worried. For her brother to act so down like this, something major must have happened.

"Ryou-chan, come here," she ordered, and when he looked like he was about to argue, she gave him The Look.

Wearily, Kise trudged to the couch and sat beside his sister (because that's where she told him to sit) and muttered uncharacteristically, "Reika- _neechan_ , I told you it was nothing..."

One look at his downcast features, she replied with a sarcastic "Really..." Putting an arm around his shoulders, she asked, "Now, can you tell _Nee-chan_ what's bothering her beloved _otouto_?"

The reason he bolted out of Kimiko's apartment was due to the fact that he needs to calm down for his heart would never stop palpitating. Being that close with the chartreusette, seeing her bright golden eyes, hearing her laughter — seeing her blush so beautifully because of Akashi... It was simply too much to handle.

And the fact that he had just helped her to come to terms with her feelings for someone else just made it worse.

Like taking a knife in your own hands and stabbing yourself with it.

 _Since when did I became a masochist?_

Oh, right.

 _Ever since I realized that I have feelings for Akumicchi._

"Ryou-chan, what's the problem?" his sister asked once again.

He wondered if he should confide in her, tell her everything that has been happening lately. Because if he didn't let it out, he's not sure if he'll be able to bear it anymore.

"Nee-chan... It hurts... It hurts so much.." he said, clutching at his chest as the pain came back, more intense this time.

"Why is that?" she asked, although she had a feeling she knew the answer, what with Kise clutching at the place where his heart is.

The blond inwardly growled at himself, cursing himself for not having the courage to tell her when they were still in middle school, for even trying to forget about his feelings for her...

Kise shook his head in frustration, these thoughts were getting him nowhere. Even if he did do something, it wouldn't matter — not in the very least.

Because from the very start, he'd already known.

"Nee-chan, I don't know what to do anymore..." he closed his eyes in a vain effort to stop the tears from falling. "I still love Akumicchi, but she... Her heart already belongs to someone else..."

And that person was someone that Kise cannot even dream of defeating.

Not when it was Kimiko's heart on the line.

Reika laced her hand with her younger brother's own, and made him lean his head on her shoulder.

"So it's Kimiko-chan, eh?" She hadn't met the girl personally, but from what Kise had told her, she was an exceptional person. And after seeing her with Kise in that latest Valentines article, she could clearly see that her brother is very much infatuated with the chartreusette.

Unfortunately, it seems that the feeling was not mutual.

"Tell me what happened," she coaxed, and after much hesitation, Kise opened up, and in a rush of words, he narrated what had happened that day, starting from Kimiko's phone call during lunch up to the part where he left her apartment all of a sudden. Reika listened with rapt attention, and when he finally finished, she gave her brother a big, warm hug.

"Oh, Ryou-chan," was all she could say. She never thought that Kise was hiding such pain for a long time...

Kise returned the hug, for he was very much in need of one.

"Nee-chan," he asked after some time, his head now lying on his sister's lap while she played with his hair.

"Yes, Ryouta?"

"I always wanted Akumicchi to do this to me, you know..." he said softly, a trace of sleepiness in his voice. "Akumicchi has gentle fingers, just like you, nee-chan..." He remembered that time during their photo shoot when Kimiko did the exact thing to him, his head on her lap as she played with his hair. He squeezed his eyes tight.

"Is that so?" Reika replied, a sad smile on her lips as she threaded her fingers through his blond locks.

"Hmmm-mmm," Kise hummed contentedly, his eyes closed. Then, his expression turned sorrowful. "But her hands are only for Akashicchi... And so is her heart."

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	25. 第25章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

 **第** **25** **章**

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

— **木** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **4** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Kyoto, Japan ****

 **京都** **、** **日本**

"Seijuurou-kun!"

His thoughts came to a halt as his dinner companion arrived fifteen minutes later from the agreed time. He took one look at her with her carefully made up face, gold earrings, and revealing midnight blue dress, and felt a wave of revulsion wash over him. Her sickly sweet smile and equally sweet voice made it clear that she was trying hard to win him over, not knowing in the very least that she had already failed even before she showed her face to Akashi. It's not that she looks hideous — most would say that she was actually beautiful, with her caramel brown hair and eyes, with curves in all the right places — but to Akashi, she was just plain revolting.

 _I could be visiting her right now_ , he thought as she sat across him, flipping her hair over her shoulder flirtingly.

"What an elegant restaurant!" she said, leaning forward and showing her cleavage to him shamelessly.

Akashi though was already looking at the menu, blocking the awful view in front of him. "Father made the reservations," he said coldly, as if to discourage her from thinking that he made an effort to please her by choosing such a classy restaurant. "And do not call me 'Seijuurou-kun.'"

 _Only one person can call me by my given name, and that person is Akumi._

"But —!"

"Akashi-san is the more proper way to address me, Inoue-san," he interrupted, not looking up from the menu in his hands. "We're hardly acquaintances. I know you from your father but this is the first time that we've met in person."

"But I was there during the party in Kobe last month!" the girl protested.

Akashi merely took a sip of wine, as if he had heard nothing. After a few more minutes of silence, he closed the menu, having made his choice. She followed suit.

The waiter came and took their orders. After choosing hors d'oeuvres and soup, Akashi ordered duck, and Inoue ordered sea bass. The food arrived at a leisurely pace, which annoyed the hell out of Akashi as Inoue tried to engage him in small talk, with all of her attempts being smoothly brushed off by the redhead while maintaining an impassive face.

"Ne, Seijuurou-ku —Akashi-san, have you, have you ever been in love?"

"What's with the sudden curiousity, Inoue-san?" Akashi asked in return.

"Well, I was just wondering..." she said as she cut a small slice of terrine and brought it to her lips.

"Yes, I have," he said nonchalantly, watching for her reaction, which was exactly as he had predicted. Her shoulders fell in disappointment, her brown eyes darkening as her grip on her fork tightened visibly. She was waiting for an explanation but none was forthcoming as Akashi took another sip of his wine, feeling his appetite slowly vanishing due to his irritation.

Finally, the girl spoke again. This time her voice was laced with jealousy mixed with fury. "It's Kagura, isn't it?"

Akashi set his knife and fork down and dabbed at his mouth with his napkin. Looking at her, he asked, "Why would you think that?" His golden eye glinted dangerously, his manners the only thing holding him from wringing the girl's neck for her insolence. She's been getting on his nerves the moment she opened her mouth.

"Because their company is bigger than ours!" she exploded.

At that point the door opened and the food was carried in. Akashi was presented with his roast duck, and Inoue received her sea bass. The waiters heaped fresh cooked vegetables on their plates and dribbled sauce on them before withdrawing and leaving the two of them alone again. Akashi cut a slice of duck and ate it calmly. Inoue didn't touch her food.

"You know, Akashi-san," she said, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "Kagura's family might be richer than mine at this moment, but Father has been busy making business deals with international companies. Besides, I'm more beautiful than that sorry excuse of an heiress, clumsy and can't even speak up properly." She placed her hands on the table and looked him in the eye.

A big mistake.

She flinched at Akashi's cold gaze. "You talk too much."

"I—"

"I don't even see the point of telling me all those things." The words 'I know that already' were left unsaid but Inoue understood perfectly, her face paling as she realized her mistakes. Still, she was desperate and so she foolishly opened her mouth once again.

"I'm just telling you the things you're going to miss if you choose Kagura over me," Inoue said, bringing a piece of sea bass in cream sauce to her mouth.

"Inoue-san, you're getting carried away with your delusions. Kagura-san has nothing to do with all this; you're foolishly making assumptions by yourself. And to make things clear, this is not a marriage interview, so you can stop saying such things."

"Then if it's not Kagura, then who—?"

"It's none of your business," Akashi said, cutting her off once more. The iciness of his voice was enough to shut her up for once and for all. The two of them went on eating in silence for a time.

Inoue left half of her fish while Akashi managed to polish off his duck despite his lack of appetite, Kimiko's words about not wasting food echoing in his ears.

The waiters took away their plates and brought lemon sherbet and espresso. Once again, Akashi forced the stuff down his throat, while Inoue ignored her sherbet. Instead, she stared down at her hands on her lap.

 _What could she be doing now?_ he wondered as he sipped on his coffee. _Akumi could be lying on the sofa reading a book, or she might be playing her guitar._ He glanced at his watch and smiled to himself. _She's most likely preparing dinner._ He felt an intense desire to go back to her apartment to eat her home-cooked dinner instead of this restaurant food.

Inoue sighed, then mumbled, "Akashi-san, what should I do to—"

"Nothing" was his immediate reply. _Nothing you can do to make me like you._

She stood up when Akashi did. He headed for the door, and she went after him, grabbing his arm as he reached for the doorknob. "Who is she, Akashi-san?" she demanded. "What does she have that I don't?"

 _How foolish._

As if brushing dirt off his sleeve, he removed her hand and faced the door again. The girl obviously has no sense of self-preservation. He could hear his other self raging inside him, something about making this sorry excuse of a human being know her place.

 _And you dare ask me why I chose her. It's not like there are options in the first place._

"Inoue-san, it seemed to me that you didn't hear me the first time." He glared at her this time. "Her identity is of no concern to you. As for your second question," he looked her from head to toe, a mocking look in his mismatched eyes, "she's everything you're not."

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 **ー** **Teikou Middle School, 2** **nd** **Year** **ー**

 _"Ne, minnacchi, who wants to go for ice cream? My treat!"_

 _From inside the clubroom, Akashi can hear Kise's cheerful voice as he addressed the rest of their group. They had just finished their afternoon practice and were supposed to head home, but here he was, rushing to finish the reports that his father had required him to make, since it was due today._

 _"Kise-chin, I want chocolate, strawberry, vanilla..." and Murasakibara continued with a long list of ice cream flavors that anyone hearing it would certainly pale at the amount._

 _"Why don't you just ask Kise to buy the whole store, nanodayo?"_

 _"Thanks, Kise-kun."_

 _"Yey! Kurokocchi is going!"_

 _"Me too!"_

 _"Sure, Momoicchi!"_

 _"I'll go, too, since Kise's buying."_

 _"Hah, well, thanks a lot, Aominecchi..."_

 _"Ki-chan, let Dai-chan buy his own ice cream!"_

 _"Oi, Satsuki—!"_

 _"I'm used to Aominecchi, Momoicchi."_

 _"Aomine-kun, show some gratitude."_

 _"Even you, Tetsu?!"_

 _"Daiki, a simple 'Thank you' won't hurt, will it?"_

 _"Akumicchi! Wanna go with us?"_

 _"Sure. Let's go?_

 _As their chatter faded into silence, Akashi sighed to himself. Alone in the dim room, he continued to type furiously on his laptop, even though his hands were tired from dribbling a ball earlier that afternoon. It didn't struck him as unusual why Kise nor anyone bothered to ask him to go with them — it's just that after rejecting them countless times before, they soon gave up trying to convince him to go with them. Only Kimiko can persuade him, of course._

 _For a long while, only the muffled sound of his keyboard and the occasional rustle of paper are the only noise around him. Suddenly, footsteps of someone who seemed to be running towards the clubroom can be heard. Akashi wearily raised his head just as the door swung open, revealing a slightly breathless Kimiko. Apparently, the chartreusette merely went with the group to buy ice cream from the nearest convenience store and had come running back to the clubroom to share it with him. She stood in the doorway for a few seconds to catch her breath before flashing him a grin and raising the plastic bag that she was carrying with her._

 _"Ice cream?"_

 _Akashi's ruby eyes softened as he found himself smiling back at her. She placed the bag on his desk as she settled beside him. She pulled out her own laptop and opened a new document on Microsoft Word, while Akashi was busy inspecting her purchases._

 _There was a tub of blackberry ice cream, along with two plastic spoons._

 _"Is the flavor okay with you?" Kimiko asked curiously._

 _"Yes, it is." It's actually one of his favorites, but he didn't said it out loud._

 _"Then, let's eat!" Kimiko took a spoonful of the cold dessert into her mouth. "Hmmm... Tastes good..."_

 _"Aa," Akashi replied as he did the same. "Akumi, what are you doing?"_

 _The girl didn't even look at him as she started retyping the corrected document on her laptop. "Isn't it obvious? I'm helping you out, duh."_

 _"You don't have to."_

 _"But I want to," she retorted, taking another spoonful of ice cream. "Now, shut up and type while you eat so we can finish this faster."_

 _"Don't you have a paper to finish?" he asked, referring to their assignment for their History class._

 _Instead of answering, she asked him, "Finished yours already?" Akashi shook his head. "Then, let's just do this here then maybe we can do the paper over at my house. What do you think?"_

 _Akashi nodded as he resumed with his work as well. Kimiko was a fast encoder, almost as fast as he is, and in no time at all, they had finished the stack of documents that needed to be done. The tub of ice cream was empty as well. While Akashi copied the files from her laptop to his flash drive, she went about tidying the room, throwing the garbage to the trash bin outside. Akashi had just hit the 'Send' button, transferring the corrected documents to his father's e-mail address when Kimiko reentered the room._

 _"Done?"_

 _"Yes," he replied, massaging his sore neck._

 _Kimiko stretched her arms over her head; sitting down for a long time made her muscles stiff. The two fixed their things and headed out for home, Akashi locking the clubroom behind them._

 _"I wonder if your father sees you as a superhuman," she said as they walked side by side. "I'm sure you can completely do all that work by yourself, but factoring in our school requirements and club practice to boot, where can you even get the time to do all that?"_

 _"By taking an hour or two from sleep, and sneaking it during class hours," Akashi replied. "It made me appreciate the ten-minute break in between our classes."_

 _She gave him a flat look. "You didn't mention skipping lunch as well. Are you trying to kill yourself?" Akashi was about to answer when she said in exasperation, "You are not supposed to answer that."_

 _"I have no choice. I have to do what my father expects me to do as the heir," he stated._

 _"Yeah, yeah, I know that already~" As they reached her house, she turned to him. "What do you want for dinner? Oh, never mind, it's tofu soup. Right?"_

 _"You don't have to cook dinner. I can just eat when I get back."_

 _"It's alright. I still have tofu in my refrigerator, and it's better to have dinner first before we start on our research papers." Kimiko shooed him off. "Now off you go, and go get change. If you're not back here within half an hour, I'll go after your head."_

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For a long moment, Akashi remained motionless by his window sill, though his mind was far from still.

He had thought of the matter countless times, and it baffles him why he can't just simply accept the fact that he is, indeed, in love with her.

So here he is again, cross-examining everything about his relationship with the chartreusette and his actions toward her.

Why had he kissed her? It was unplanned, which in itself was odd, as he almost never did anything impulsively. They were merely going at each other with their usual playful banter when she suddenly lost her balance and fell on his lap. Her golden eyes, almost unnatural in its brightness, coupled with her ridiculously unique lime-green hair, distracted him long enough to make his usually sharp mind go haywire and decided that it would be good to just kiss her then and there.

His other self snickered from within him. _ **Don't tell me you don't know what it is that you feel for her. Surely, you must have realized it by now. You've admitted it yesterday.**_

 _I am attracted to her_ , he thought, and the realization amused and disturbed him at the same time. Since when did his image of the chartreusette change?

Or has it been that way all along?

 _ **Stop being dense; it is so unbecoming of you. And cowardly, too. You've always loved her since Teikou — you both did, just that none of you acknowledged it. It's not mere attraction.**_

 _And how can I confirm that?_ he asked.

 _ **You love her. Period.**_

 _I love Kimiko...?_

 _ **Hmm.**_

Curious about this thing called love, Akashi sat at the table at the corner of his room, crossed his arms over his chest, and allowed himself to ponder upon the matter.

Perhaps it was because of the fact that she had gone for a year that Akashi was able to realize what Kimiko really is to him. After all, people tend to know the worth of something only after it was gone from their hands. That's what Midorima had said. Perhaps it was because they were older now to think of such things; for in Teikou they were but children. Perhaps...

Akashi chuckled to himself. _How strange_ , he thought. Here he is, thinking about why he kissed his closest friend instead of thinking about the Nationals (the opening ceremony was but two days away) or doing his company duties (his desk in his study was probably stacked with paperwork again). Not to mention that he has an assignment for his Music class and a worksheet for Math due tomorrow. Surely, burdened with such tasks, Akashi shouldn't have time for such silly, trivial thoughts; all his life he had been taught how to choose and make his priorities in life properly (which basically meant putting the name of the Akashi family first before his personal desires), yet what occupied his attention at this moment was none of which has anything to do with the company, the family, the school, or the team. The only thing that mattered to him right now was no one else but Kimiko.

Just as he had taught Kuroko, Akashi learned a lot about Kimiko simply by watching her; the way she moved, the way she talked, the way she thought. By simple observation, he found out what things would easily make her happy, annoyed, angry, frustrated, and sad. It was fascinating, and though Akashi was rarely interested in anyone on a personal level, he wanted to know more about her, to know her better.

At first, it disturbed him how easily they slipped into such a comfortable familiarity – Nijimura had even joked about the two of them having a telepathic bond or something like that. Most of the time, it took only a few nods and silent looks to get their point across to one another, thus their ability to communicate mid-game with Kimiko watching them from the bench. Trusting each other came naturally as breathing – no questions asked, only the mutual understanding that they got each other's backs. It happened without them knowing, and soon enough, they knew each other just as well as the back of their own hands. People even thought that they were childhood friends like Aomine and Momoi, while some even went as far as assuming that they are a couple; what with their closeness and all. When the rest of the team was elsewhere, it was always Kimiko who stays behind to accompany Akashi, offering him her assistance or just her company, both of which was appreciated and welcomed by the redhead.

Another thing that Akashi noticed is that despite being uncomfortable with physical contact with other people, he did not seem to mind when it was with Kimiko. At first, they were simple brushes of the hand whenever she hands him something (a clipboard, a towel, a ball, a bottle of water), or when they would huddle close as they discuss the training menu or their game plans. Then there was him tucking her hair behind her ear, which quickly became the norm for them, and then there were the subtle leaning on the other's shoulders that soon became uninhibited embraces that at first raised a lot of eyebrows among the club members. Nijimura and the rest of the Kiseki no Sedai, along with Kuroko and Momoi were also a recipient of Kimiko's rare hugs, while Akashi gets them on a regular basis.

And then the kiss happened.

One that he had never anticipated on happening.

But then again, he always seemed to lose his restraint when it comes to Kimiko. The walls that he had carefully constructed around him upon the death of his mother vanishes whenever she was around. At first glance, he knew that the girl was indeed special, but he never thought that she'd be special to _him_. Being a part of a male-dominant club, he'd quickly realized she was too capable and intelligent to have not known exactly what she may be facing, and had taken the risk anyway. She was truly a surprising and remarkable person.

Kimiko was mischievous, exceptionally intelligent, determined, talented and skilled in a variety of areas, possessed a natural charm despite the temper he'd caught glimpses of when she didn't get her way and had a bit of a sadistic streak on her when it comes to her training menus as she tends to push them to their limits, but she was probably the most caring and passionate person that Akashi had ever known. And she was, honestly speaking, strikingly beautiful. Akashi had no doubts about that certain aspect of her. With her unique hair color and bright golden eyes coupled with her slender and elegant form, she was absolutely more than pleasing to the eyes. Even more so when she had that endearingly sweet yet mischievous smile on her lips, as if she knows something that you don't...

A part of him was beginning to find her quite irresistible. After being reunited with her, Kimiko was always on his mind, more often than he would like to admit. And this was somewhat alarming, as it was almost bordering on obsession.

Akashi, being the shogi player that he was, always planned two steps ahead, always examined all possible futures that might occur with his every action, always ready for whatever might happen. Sadly, this trait of his is void whenever the chartreusette was involved. Akashi becomes impulsive, caring only about the here and now, letting himself go with the flow that she orchestrated. For once, Akashi, who has his whole life planned out for him, welcomed the spontaneity that Kimiko offers whenever they are together.

"Akumi," he whispered to the four walls of his bedroom, her name sounding like a spell that comforts him every time he utters it.

 _I wonder if she's thinking about me, too._

 _Say, Akumi, do you love me, too?_

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 ****Tokyo, Japan****

 **東京、日本**

 _"Are you sure he's not more than that?"_

Midorima's words echoed in Kimiko's ears as she stared at the frame in her hands. It was the picture of her and Akashi taken during the New Year Festival. She felt herself smile at the sight of herself with Akashi looking happily into the camera.

 _What am I to Seijuurou?_ she asked herself.

To begin with, their relationship had been very questionable, to say the least. There were times when Akashi's behavior towards her leaves her confused and bewildered, and more often than not, would make her heart beat a mile a minute. Even more so when he 'changed'. Despite the fact that she did not liked that side of Akashi in the slightest, a part of her was delighted whenever he acts possessive and all when it comes to her.

Kimiko face-palmed. _I make it sound like I'm masochistic._

 _Akashi is different when he's with you. He's guarded all the time, but with you, he's different. He's more open and at ease in your company._

Midorima had pointed out, with Kuroko nodding in agreement. Somehow, that weirded her out. The two do not normally get along with each other after all.

But yes, he was different. Akashi was different when she was in his company. He'd opened himself up to her, making small talk with her, showing his vulnerable side to her quite a few times before and he never seemed to mind it. He was alright with sleeping in her sights when she remembered how he had blown a fit when Aomine and Kise once barged into the clubroom while he was taking a nap (on Kimiko's insistence).

Kimiko had seen all that and more, something she knew few others had seen, but even more importantly, she'd seen parts of his inner self that she was sure no one else had seen. After all, Akashi wasn't one for sharing information about himself. If not for Midorima, the team wouldn't have known about his status as the heir to the Akashi conglomerate. Even when Kise tried asking him about himself, Akashi would answer in the shortest way possible, just enough to satisfy the question without mentioning anything outside of it, much to Kise's and his listeners' frustration.

On the other hand, Akashi hadn't been upset when she asked him about his past. Nijimura had always commented on the way the redhead treated her compared to the team and Momoi and the other managers. The redhead always made it a habit of knowing where she is and what she is doing at any given moment and was always watchful of anyone who dares to search and speak to her. Whether it was a conscious or an unconscious act on his part, she had no way of finding out.

She's not even sure if she would like to find out.

During their first two years in middle school, that is, before the whole team changed for the worse, she and Akashi had this silent understanding between them that the other club members find creepy and awesome at the same time. Kimiko is not sure when and how such a thing happened or came to existence — it's just that, after all those walks to and from school and their silent observations over each other every time they get, it's not that hard to know what the other's personalities, like and dislikes, habits and quirks are.

They are masters of observation, after all.

But back to the question, what was she to him?

She focused back on the picture in her hands. Akashi's eyes were both twin rubies, shining in equal parts amusement and happiness, his shoulders totally relaxed, as if momentarily shed of the enormous burden that he carries on a daily basis, and the smile on his face was carefree and genuine. His strong arm was wrapped around her own waist, pulling her close to him, his chin resting on her shoulder comfortably after telling her to smile. She traced his crimson hair with the tip of her finger.

Was he in love with her? This obviously was what Midorima was implying. But why would he say that? Had Akashi talked to him about it? It didn't seem possible that Akashi would have shared something like that with him — it was too personal, and the redhead was never loose with such information about himself.

Then there was Kise's actions to think about. He was pretty much trying to prove the green-head's assumptions.

Kimiko shook her head. There was no way Midorima could be correct.

 _Akashi? In love with me?_

She entertained the idea for a moment. Ignoring the blush growing on her cheeks, she began recalling Akashi and his treatment of her.

 _Let's see,_ and she started from their first year together in Teikou, trying to be as objective as she can.

 _Defending me from Shougo's unpleasant advances, helping me with anything every chance he gets, explaining parts of lessons and basketball stuff that I don't quite understand well, protecting me from potential harm, walking with me to and from school, asking me to make him bento on Wednesdays and Fridays, always pairing up with me in pair and group works in class, sharing random information about him to me out of the blue, inviting me on random excursions to theme parks or simply a walk to the nearest city park or basketball court, making sure that I am sleeping and eating properly instead of obsessing on their profiles and data sheets, challenging me to shogi matches, handing me random souvenirs whenever he goes on one of his business trips, seeking me out whenever he feels upset or simply fed up with his father, warding off suitors and unwanted stalkers, making sure that he was the first to give me gifts on occasions like Valentines, Christmas, and of course, my birthday..._

Is that how a simple 'friend' acts?

 _He's my bestfriend, right?_

But is that how a 'bestfriend' acts?

 _I don't remember him asking me for more than that..._ she reasoned out, and out of the blue, Akashi's request that night rang loud and clear in her mind.

 _Can you promise me that you will never leave me?_

She blushed in spite of herself.

 _Why does that question sounds like a proposal?_

Kimiko shook her head violently.

 _JUST STOP!_ she screamed to herself.

Well, if it was simply that question, she wouldn't have thought too much about it. After all, no one could possibly want to have their closest friend to leave them, right? But his face that night and the way he held her hands tightly seemed to be saying something else... So could it be...?

 _But, no, I could be imagining things. Seijuurou was too devoted to his studies and heir duties to even bother about something as troublesome as love... Not that I'm saying that he's incapable of such, but —_

She stopped.

 _Then why do I seem to be so bitter about it? Am I somehow expecting for my delusions to be true?_

Suddenly, Kimiko realized.

 _I'm afraid. I'm afraid because I don't know what to expect because I have never been in love, and I'm positive that Seijuurou is the same._

Right, so why did Midorima insisted on the two of them being in love with one another?

 _What if I am?_ she asked herself. _How the hell would I even know?_

Kuroko's monotone voice came to her head. _Do you want him around?_

Yes.

 _Does he make you happy?_

Yes.

 _Does he make you feel safe?_

Yes.

 _Can you imagine life without him?_

No.

 _When he kissed you, what did you feel? Did you liked it?_

Her blush intensified. Her fingers touched her lips.

 _The kiss...felt nice._

 _Riiiiight_ , she smacked her forehead. What a generic way to describe it. _And my face is as red as Seijuurou's hair._

To be honest, the kiss... felt right. Perfectly right. There's no other way to describe it. The way his lips danced over hers, and how she felt disappointed when he pulled away...

Her heartbeat quickened at the memory. Akashi's dazed eyes when they parted came to her mind's eye, and Kimiko rolled over and buried her face into her pillow.

So maybe she did love him.

Now, the question is, does he love her back?

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 _Kimiko entered the restaurant where Akashi had told her to go. Giving her name at the door, one of the staff led her to where Akashi made his reservation. Even without someone to guide her to their table, she could have made it there without difficulty as Akashi's blazing crimson hair was enough of a beacon for her._

 _Akashi greeted her with a small smile when she arrived. As she sat down, she noticed the extra plate beside Akashi's._

 _"Are we having company?" she asked, pointing at the extra plate._

 _"Yes. I have something to tell you," Akashi replied. Suddenly, a smile he used to give her appeared on his face as his eyes looked at someone behind her. "She's here."_

She? _Kimiko turned and followed his gaze._

 _"Sei-kun!" A beautiful girl with silvery blonde hair and pale blue eyes was waving at them as she walked elegantly towards them. Akashi stood to meet her halfway, leaving a bewildered Kimiko behind. She stared as Akashi helped the girl into her seat, who gave him a quick peck on the lips before sitting down._

 _Akashi cleared his throat and Kimiko blinked, embarassed to have been caught staring._

 _"Kimiko," he began, but she cut him off._

 _Gold eyes narrowed, she asked, "Why are you calling me by my last name? Last time I checked, I was 'Akumi' to you."_

 _"Oh, that would be my fault," the girl answered in a quiet voice. "I asked Sei-kun to call no one by their first name. Except for me, of course."_

 _"As I was saying, Kimiko," and an apologetic smile was on his lips as he held the girl's hand in his, "this is Suzaku Rin. Rin, this is Kimiko Akumi."_

 _A fine green eyebrow arched in a silent question as she took a sip of water to hide her growing annoyance._

 _"She's my fiancee."_

 _Kimiko choked ungracefully on her water, but unlike before, Akashi no longer rushed to her side to rub her back. Of course, he can't if he's holding the girl's hand oh so lovingly. Gone are the days when it was only her hand that he would hold._

 _"What?!" she exclaimed once she recovered._

 _"Sei-kun and I am engaged," Rin said, and showed her their engagement ring on her finger. Kimiko spied a matching one on Akashi's hand._

 _Something inside her broke into a million tiny pieces. Breathing became painful, and tears threatened to fall from her eyes._

 _Why am I feeling like this? Like I am betrayed or something? Why?_

 _"Kimiko, why are you crying?" Akashi asked worriedly, and only then did she noticed that her cheeks were wet. Wiping them hurriedly with the back of her hand, she forced a smile as she looked at their entwined hands._

 _"I'm...I'm just happy for my bestfriend, is all..." She bit her lip before continuing. "Congratulations, Akashi. Anyway, I should be going, wouldn't want to disturb your time together... Ja, see you around!"_

 _And Kimiko ran on shaky legs, intent to get away from them, away from Akashi and Rin, ignoring his voice calling her back._

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— **金** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **5** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

"Is something the matter, Akumi-chan?" Her former coach, Shirogane Kozo, asked her in a gentle voice. Kimiko had woken up with tears in her eyes as a result of that dream. Her mind was irritably blank, and for the life of her, Kimiko cannot think of a reasonable conclusion as to why her brain decided to cook that up. When four o'clock came, she had the urge to visit Teikou just to take her mind off things.

Hopefully.

She was watching a practice match between the regulars and selected first string members, but she was having difficulty concentrating on the players. Shirogane, ever observant, had noticed it.

"Uh, no, no!" she shook her head. "Everything is fine," she added silently, biting her lip nervously.

"I'm here to listen," prodded Shirogane. Seeing the usually sharp girl looking dazed and unfocused bothered him. Ever since that day when the chartreusette boldly barged into his office demanding to be a training manager for the team, Shirogane had developed a sort of a fondness for the girl. Her dedication to her job and her passion for the sport was what endeared her to him, just like to the rest of the team. After all, their batch was his favorite.

Seeing her reluctance, he smiled at her and said, "We can talk about it after practice, if you want."

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"Shirogane-san..." she said, biting her lip nervously as they sat facing each other. They were in a small café near Teikou, one where she and the Kiseki no Sedai had gone to several times. Shirogane had invited her here to talk about her 'problem'.

"So, Akumi-chan, how are you?" he asked, and she was immediately put at ease by his warm grin as he sipped on his coffee.

"I'm... I'm well," she answered. There was a moment's silence before Shirogane spoke again.

"That was not so convincing Akumi-chan," he said. "What happened?"

She blushed as she looked down and stirred her coffee absentmindedly.

"Uhm," _I can't believe I'm telling this to Shirogane-san!_ "Shirogane-san, you see..." An adorable shade of pink dusted her cheeks — a far cry from the demonic training manager that the old man was accustomed to. "It's... Seijuurou, h-he... I-I don't know what it means..."

"What did he do now?" Shirogane asked, curious.

"He... He kissed me and —"

The old man chuckled. "My, my, you two have grown a lot, you and Seijuurou-kun."

"E-eh?!" she cried, blushing further. She looked at the side sullenly. "I don't even know what to make of it— we're not even a couple..."

Shirogane laid a fatherly hand on her shoulder as he chuckled knowingly. "But you've been acting like one already."

 _"N-nani?!"_

"Ever since middle school. You two have been inseparable, until... You know," the old man sighed sadly as he referred to their last year in middle school. He wasn't there to witness it but he had known it from what the other coaches had told him. "You two compliment each other perfectly."

When she remained silent, he asked her about her thoughts on the redhead.

"Se-seijuurou...?"

He nodded. "How much do you like him?"

"I... I like him... very much."

"Do you love him?"

She gave him a confused look amd tilted her head. "How do I know if I do love him?"

Shirogane's smile was warm and fond as he answered.

"It's when he's all you think about every waking moment... When you only want him to look at you and no one else... When you can't imagine living life without him... That's when you know you're in love."

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	26. 第26章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **26** **章**

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— **土** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **6** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Kyoto, Japan ****

 **京都** **、** **日本**

"Why are we even here?" Hayama muttered from behind a bush where he was huddled along with the rest of Rakuzan's basketball team.

"Because we're going to see Sei-chan's girlfriend. Now shut up," came Mibuchi's irritated reply.

Mayuzumi clicked his tongue in annoyance as he glanced at his wristwatch. They'd been crouching in the same position for over an hour, and his legs were already killing him. His eyes strayed to where Akashi sat, his back to them, sipping coffee. He'd arrived thirty minutes ago, and had been calmly waiting in that cafe ever since. Now, that piqued the gray-head's interest. Unless it was for formal business, Akashi has this annoying habit of showing up last on meetings (something to do with making a grand entrance, probably). Akashi showing up half an hour early just to pick up a girl at the train station was somehow... well, disconcerting, to say the least.

"It's about time," Nebuya announced, just as Akashi stood up, eyes on the passengers' exit up ahead. Mismatched eyes scanned the crowd for that bright lime-green hair.

Akashi spotted her first. She was carrying a small duffel bag containing her clothes and other things she'll possibly need for her week-long stay in Wakayama. Her hair was down, and she was wearing a black tank top under a knee-length denim coat, pleated skirt and black boots. He strode over to her, and her eyes finally met his. She gave him a bright, mischievous smile, which he returned with a small smirk of his own. Moving beside her, he took her luggage and slung it on his shoulder.

"You're on time," Kimiko teased.

"I'm never late on any of our meetings," Akashi replied as he led her out of the station, where a limousine was waiting for them to take them to the manor. He sneaked a glance at the girl beside him.

 _She's still the same,_ he noticed. He was expecting some sort of awkwardness between them because of what had happened but thankfully, there was nothing of the sort. But for some reason he was a bit disappointed that Kimiko didn't even have any reaction.

 _Did it not affect her in the very least?_

"I'll be watching the middle school matches as well — Teikou will be there," Kimiko said.

"Hardly surprising," he commented.

"Indeed," she said cheerfully. She then turned her head and saw Akashi suppressing a yawn.

"Didn't have enough sleep?" she asked quietly, her expression subdued.

Akashi blinked, feeling guilty for being caught. He laced his hand with hers. "I'm fine."

Kimiko was unconvinced but didn't comment on it. She tightened her grip on his hand instead.

 _If she only knew why._

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— **金** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **5** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Kyoto, Japan ****

 **京都** **、** **日本**

 _It was late at night — 11:52 PM on the clock hanging on the wall — but Akashi Seijuurou was still up and awake, poring over his thicker-than-usual stack of paperwork. He was working overtime in order to free his schedule for Saturday, as he had other plans for that certain date, which do not certainly include being holed up in his study doing reports and whatnot._

 _After a while, Akashi decided to get himself some tea downstairs. Of course, he can just call a maid and have it delivered to him in his room, but he figured he needed the short walk after sitting down for hours._

 _The large hallways of the manor were all brightly lit, yet as Akashi walked through them, they felt cold and sterile, hostile even, none of that comforting warmth that was to be expected from the place that one calls their home._

 _Why was that?_

This place ceased to be my home the day mother died.

 _"Home" is something the grand Akashi manor was not. Akashi felt more at ease in his middle school apartment in Tokyo. As he reminisced the better years of his life, another place came to mind — Kimiko's residence. Her place was larger than his, given that his place was just a studio-type apartment, while hers was intended for a family, though she never talked much about her family who was never there with her during all that time. All he knew was that her father was working abroad, and as for her mother, she never gave a hint and he didn't pry. Despite being the only one living in that house, it never felt lonely. He — and the rest of the Kiseki no Sedai — had spent many nights in her home as it was their default overnight venue whenever they have to study together or have some team-bonding exercises (any excuse to hang out in there to eat Kimiko's home-made meals). It is also where most of them had celebrated their birthdays – the exceptions being Nijimura (whose birthday party was held on the school's rooftop), Kise (who had invited them to some restaurant), and Murasakibara (who had invited them to his home instead)._

 _What the others didn't know is that Akashi had been spending the night at Kimiko's at least thrice a week when he became the captain in his second year. It was only meant to last for a few weeks at most - as they struggled to adjust with their newly-appointed positions. Now that Kimiko is their coach, she had to make their plays, step up their training menus, scout for potential club members, arrange for practice matches with other schools, plan for their summer camps... The list goes on and on. Akashi, well, as captain, his duty lies on looking after the players when they were on the court — it's his duty to lead them to victory. His workload was probably lighter than hers; he was thankful that Momoi was there to take care of the information gathering duties._

 _And so it was that despite her initial protests — Kimiko was against Akashi helping her with her duties since Akashi was already busy with his own as the Akashi heir — they finally managed a compromise between them. Knowing that both of them tend to be workaholics — staying up late to finish everything at once (in Akashi's case) or to make unnecessary improvements (in Kimiko's case), they agreed to watch over each other as they work, so that someone will tell the other to stop working and get to bed already. Kimiko would sometimes tell Akashi about her game plans and all, asking for his feedback. At first, it was only her asking questions, then Akashi once asked for her input for a certain proposal that he was working on, and Kimiko managed to find a hole in it. Thus started her job as playing the devil's advocate for the redhead's ideas, her outlandish remarks making actual sense to him as he polished his reports and proposals to perfection that not even the Akashi head can find a single thing to complain about._

 _Akashi brought his tea with him upstairs, the aroma of which soothed his exhausted mind. Though his eyes were begging for sleep, he simply could not — not until he finished his workload for two days. He was going to meet Kimiko in the station at Saturday morning and bring her to the manor where she will stay until Sunday morning, when they will meet up with the Rakuzan team to head off to Wakayama (thankfully his father was going to be in Tokyo until Monday, by which time he and Kimiko would be well away from him). Of course, Akashi cannot leave Kimiko by herself in the manor while he go and spend time with his laptop and stacks of papers, now, could he?_

 _And he's not going to pass the opportunity to enjoy her company, either. It still irritates him to no end knowing that Kuroko, Aomine, Momoi, Kise, and Midorima can go see her anytime they want — heck, even Kagami was probably seeing her more often than him!_

 _Then there was that magazine article._

 _He won't allow Kimiko to meet his father — definitely not happening, not if he can help it. The results of them meeting one another would prove to be totally problematic and annoying to Akashi. Especially since the Akashi head had made it clear that he's interested in the "new" model._

Now, what better way to punish Kise for all this mess?

 _The sheer knowledge of other people laying their eyes on Kimiko is completely unforgivable._

 _Only Akashi and Akashi alone is allowed to do so._

She's mine.

 _The moment he made the claim in his mind, her words echoed in his head._

 _ **"Possessive! You're acting possessive over me!"**_

I'm not, _he denied, taking back the words immediately, knowing that it would make her angry if she heard him saying that._

 _His 'other' self snickered._

 **I thought I'm the only one to declare her as my possession.**

She has not given you the privilege to do so. There are proper steps to be followed in order to earn that right, _Akashi retorted, feeling a bit annoyed at himself for the little slip._

 **'Proper steps?' What do you mean? The moment you asked her to be by your side forever is the same as chaining her to you, wasn't it? She'd already consented to it without even realizing it.**

 _Akashi's steps faltered slightly at that._

 **The two of you are quite slow, don't you think?** _his 'other' self said mockingly._

Hn _, was all he could offer in defense. He could feel the other feeling smug._

But she can keep her promise even if we remain friends. She doesn't have to —

 _His line of thought was interrupted by_ **But is that what you really meant when you asked her that?**

 _At this, Akashi frowned._

 **If you want someone to remain by your side forever, then you better possess their heart and mind before someone else does. Because by then, regardless of any promises that you made between the two of you, you'll never be her priority and sooner or later, that will create a gap between the two of you. Do you get what I mean?**

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

 _His phone was ringing when he returned to his study. With narrowed eyes, he gingerly picked up the glowing device. An ominous feeling came to him as he read the caller's name on the bright screen. Somehow, he felt that whatever this person was going to tell him, it was bound to be anything but good news. Experience had taught him that phone calls this late at night is sure to bring something unpleasant._

Could it be —

 _Akashi's shoulders dropped in disappointment — or relief — he's not really sure._

 _Kimiko had not messaged or called him ever since the night he kissed her._

 _The caller ID read: Midorima Shintarou._

 _The sinking feeling in his stomach worsened. Now, what could Shutoku's ace possibly want from Akashi at this time of night?_

 _"Midorima."_

 _ **"Akashi."**_

 _"What do you want?" he asked as he sat back in his chair. He took a sip of his tea as he waited for the other to state his business._

 _ **"Why—"**_

 _"My personal affairs are none of your business," Akashi cut him off with a warning tone in his voice. The moment Midorima asked "Why", he had already completed the rest of the question in his mind._

 _ **"Kimiko is involved. Of course, we will be worried."**_

 _"'We'?" Akashi asked. "Who else did Kise —?"_

 _Midorima cut him off. "_ _ **What makes you say that it is Kise —?**_ _"_

 _"Because Kise is the first person that Akumi could probably ask about it, and because all this mess is his fault," Akashi cuts in smoothly. "You know I hate it when someone interrupts me while I am still speaking, Midorima."_

 _"_ _ **Tch**_ _," Midorima replied in annoyance._

 _"If you don't have anything more to say, I'm going to hang up. Unlike you, I am actually quite busy right now."_

 _ **"Actually, the three of us — Kise, Kuroko, and I — visited Kimiko earlier. Kise learned about your—"**_ _here, Midorima paused, not wanting to say the word —_ _ **"with Kimiko during lunch. Kimiko called him."**_

 _"...And?"_

 _ **"Kuroko came up with this plan to see Kimiko's true feelings about you."**_

 _Akashi sat up in his seat. "What?" he growled. The hell these idiots are doing?_

Kimiko's true feelings?

About me?

Should I have a punishment ready for Kuroko as well?

These meddling idiots...

 _ **"Kimiko had been trying to find out why you did that and how she was supposed to react to it. Obviously, she's confused with her feelings for you since you're her friend. Kuroko decided to help her out."**_

That's it. Midorima's going to join as well.

 _Akashi's eyes narrowed once more in irritation._

 _"Talkative tonight, aren't you, Midorima?" he asked pleasantly, although the look in his ruby orbs is anything but that._

 _Akashi allowed a satisfied smirk when he heard the green-haired boy clear his throat after an awkward silence._

 _When Midorima spoke, he was now serious._ _ **"You're not the only person vying for Kimiko's affection."**_

 _"I know."_

 _ **"Kise is one of them."**_

 _The redhead snorted at this. It's nothing new to him. After all, he'd been watching the blonde's interactions with the chartreusette and he's perfectly aware of Kise's feelings for Kimiko._

 _Then there's that raven-haired mirage shooter from Yosen — Murasakibara's teammate and Kagami's surrogate brother. He's absolutely smitten with Kimiko, although he's doing a good job at hiding it behind a smile. However, Akashi's sharp eyes saw through his facade. Besides, his actions during Kuroko's birthday party was a dead giveaway._

 _"They are insignificant."_

 _ **"It's not impossible for Kimiko to return their feelings. This kind of thing is not the same as basketball or shogi."**_

 _"Of course, it' s not. It's not a game," Akashi agreed. "However, I am not going to lose to any of them. I am_ absolute _, after all."_

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

"That's her?!" Mibuchi exclaimed, eyes glued on Akashi and Kimiko's joined hands once the pair was a safe distance away from their hiding place. "That's HER?!"

Nebuya whistled in appreciation. "Akashi sure knows how to pick them..."

"So they're in a long-distance relationship?" Hayama wondered aloud. They haven't seen the girl before and it was only recently that Akashi had dropped hints about her existence.

"Maybe?"

Suddenly, Mibuchi's phone vibrated in his pocket, indicating a message. At first, he didn't bother checking it, but when the rest of them received a message one after the other, well...

"I told you he's going to find out," Mayuzumi commented dryly as he opened the message from no other than their all-seeing captain.

 **[From: Akashi Seijuurou]**

 **[To: Hayama Kotarou, Mayuzumi Chihiro, Mibuchi Reo, Nebuya Eikichi]**

 _ **10:34 AM: Be ready for tomorrow.**_

The four high schoolers gulped.

 _We're doomed._

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 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京** **、** **日本**

Takao hurried on his way home after seeing his parents and his sister at the airport. They were off to a weekend stay in Hiroshima to attend a wedding of his aunt. He would've liked to come along as well, but he was busy with school and besides, he didn't think he'd survive a day without playing basketball.

 _"There will be a streetball court there, too," his mother reasoned, trying to persuade him to go with them._

 _"But it won't be the same," Takao found himself retorting. There will be no Otsubo-san to yell out directives, no Kimura-san telling them to run faster, no Miyaji-san to complain about their sloppiness._

 _Worse, there'll be no Shin-chan to pass the ball to._

"Why am I even thinking of that selfish — Oof!"

His train of thought was cut off when he bumped into someone. Luckily, that person was quick to react and had grabbed his arm, steadying him on his feet and preventing him from falling on his butt. One glance at the taped fingers wrapped around his arm was enough confirmation to the hawk-eyed boy, although he was a bit surprised.

 _Speaking of the devil..._ "Shin-chan!"

"Tsk. I told you not to call me that." His grip remained in place and the two stood in that manner for a short while until Takao cleared his throat.

"Ano, Shin-chan—"

"You're annoying, Takao."

Midorima freed him then and they continued walking, although Takao found it weird that it was the green-head who was leading the way, but he decided not to comment on that.

"Ne, Shin-chan, you can always call me by my first name," he said with a laugh, bumping him slightly in the arm with his shoulder.

"I told you —" Midorima began but Takao cut him off with a raised hand.

"—'that I should not call you that—it's not like we're close with each other, nanodayo.'" He chuckled at his partner's glare, then fixed his eyes on the road ahead of them. "Really, Shin-chan, you must come up with another reason. That one's getting old already."

"Hn."

Midorima is not exactly the most talkative person on earth, but Takao was able to interpret most of his words and even his silence. Takao is quite the chatterbox, but he knows Midorima is listening, even though he may not look like it.

"So, where are you headed, Shin-chan?" he asked.

There was a silent pause before Midorima answered with a muttered, "I don't know."

"Eh?" He shifted the grocery bags in his hand as he stared up at Midorima's unusually troubled face. He almost asked him if he has a problem, but decided against it after the many times that Midorima had brushed that question many times in the past with a surly "It's nothing, nanodayo." And so, he shrugged his shoulders and continued on with his chatter.

"If Shin-chan has nowhere to go, then maybe you can drop by my house!" Midorima glanced at him and he explained before the green-head would get any weird ideas. Takao gestured at the bags in his hand. "I'm cooking dinner. My parents and Kazuha-chan had gone to Hiroshima for the week."

"Why are you cooking dinner so early?" It was only four in the afternoon.

"What's wrong with eating early?" He wouldn't say the real reason, though. He'll get an earful from Midorima if he ever finds out. Too late to hope for that though, as he heard Midorima click his tongue in annoyance.

"Tsk."

"Shi-shin-chan! I-i forgot, okay? I had to send them to the station and all, and it was already two o'clock when I realized that I haven't eaten lunch yet!" _Sheesh, why do I even have to explain myself to him?_

"It's not healthy, Takao. You should take better care of yourself."

 _Ha_ , Takao thought. "Anyway, let's just hurry home so I can eat already..."

"Who said I was going with you?"

"Awww, c'mon, Shin-chan! You know I never liked eating alone! Besides, you've got nothing to do anyway, right?"

Takao didn't miss the fact that despite Midorima's earlier question, he did not stop walking with him. It made him laugh inwardly.

"Hmp."

"Thanks a lot, Shin-chan!"

Midorima huffed, then turned to look at his right. "I'm only going to make sure that you would actually eat and not starve yourself, you idiot."

"Of course, of course," Takao replied with an eyeroll. _Tsundere_.

"Hn."

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 **ー** **2nd Year, Teikou Middle School** **ー**

 _"You hold the egg like this, then you hit it with the side of the fork hard enough for it to crack, then you pull them apart and tada!" Kimiko showed him her work with a flourish. "Now, you do it," she encouraged him with a nod._

 _On his first try, he had hit the egg too hard that it shattered in his hand. On the second try, it was too weak. And on the third, the fork only hit the end of the egg._

 _"I can even do it with one hand," said another voice, and did just what he had said. Using the edge of the bowl, he cracked the egg nicely and spilled its contents in the bowl._

 _Midorima looked up from his own work and glared at the speaker. "Why are you even here, Akashi?"_

 _"Hm? I didn't know I wasn't allowed to visit Akumi," he replied with light sarcasm. It was Sunday, and Kimiko had offered to teach Midorima how to cook to prepare for their Home Economics class. Akashi had gotten wind of it and had invited himself, much to the green-head's inner irritation._

 _"Hn." He picked his fourth egg, brows slightly furrowed in concentration._ Hit the middle, not too hard, not too light, just the right amount of force, and —

 _*crack*_

 _"I made it," Midorima murmured as he successfully cracked the egg._

 _"Congratulations," Akashi stated with a smirk._

 _"Che."_

 _Kimiko went beside him and looked at his work. "You did it! Good job, Shintarou!" She gave him a smile and a thumbs-up, then handed him a pair of chopsticks. "Now I'll teach you how to cook a basic tamagoyaki!"_

 _"That's too much," Akashi commented at Midorima who was putting salt on his egg mixture. "The recipe calls for one-fourth teaspoon of salt."_

 _"Listen to Seijuurou, Shintarou," Kimiko said while she was preparing the pan. "He may not look like it, but he knows what he's doing."_

 _Akashi shot her an indignant look. "What was that supposed to mean, Akumi?"_

 _An amused giggle was all he got for a response._

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

"Earth to Shin-chan!"

Midorima blinked as Takao passed a hand in front of his face. He was helping Takao prepare dinner, and had been doing things on autopilot as he got lost in his musings.

"Are you okay, Shin-chan? You seem —"

"It's nothing, nanodayo." Midorima passed him by as he placed the bowl in the sink. If he remembered correctly, Kimiko should be in Kyoto by now. She would be watching the Nationals — at Akashi's side, most probably. Unless the girl refuses, the redhead would probably find a way to have Kimiko at their bench during their matches. If it's Akashi, nothing would be impossible.

Kise would be there, and so is that mirage shooter... I wonder how Akashi would deal with them.

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 **** Wakayama, Japan ****

 **和歌山** **、** **日本**

"Muro-chin," Murasakibara said slowly, watching as the mirage shooter dried his hair with a towel. "You seem a little..." He eyed the gleam in his teammate's eyes warily. "...happy, lately."

Himuro glanced up at the purple-head. "Huh?"

Murasakibara shoved a Pocky stick in his mouth. "It's creepy."

Onyx eyes narrowed. "What are you saying, Atsushi?"

Murasakibara sat at the foot of his bed in their shared room in a hotel in Wakayama. "And you ask too much about Kumi-chin."

Himuro stared at him. _Was I being too obvious?_ "I'm just curious about her." He hung the towel around his neck. "She's very interesting."

Murasakibara turned a lazy eye on him. Having gone through this with his schoolmates in Teikou, Murasakibara had learned to realize the signs. "Muro-chin is a liar."

The mirage shooter's eyes widened dangerously and he glared at his teammate. He folded his arms sternly. "I'm not lying about anything."

Murasakibara frowned. He likes Himuro as his partner on court, therefore he must at least give him a warning. "Aka-chin will get angry."

"Why would he?" he asked. "It's not like they are a couple."

"Aka-chin will still get angry."

Himuro stood up to hang his towel to let it dry. He was well aware of the relationship between Akashi and Kimiko. Murasakibara had told him of the redhead's possessiveness over the chartreusette. However, Himuro was no coward. Ever since their first meeting, she had already captivated him.

He had already fallen in love with Kimiko Akumi.

And he was going to confess to her, that's for sure.

"What are you going to do, Muro-chin?"

"What do you think?" Himuro retorted calmly.

Murasakibara sighed. _Muro-chin is so troublesome._ "Don't say I didn't warn you, though~"

Himuro, hearing his Murasakibara's words, felt a small smile on his lips.

"Of course, Atsushi," Himuro said slowly. "But that's not going to stop me." The smile wiped off his face. "Go to sleep, Atsushi."

Murasakibara pouted at Himuro's coldness. _Oh well._ He clambered on his bed and slipped between the warm sheets, his back turned to Himuro. Sure, Murasakibara likes Himuro but when it comes to Kimiko, the purple-haired boy prefers to have a certain redhead to be with her always. And as much as he had seen Himuro's interactions with Kimiko, he still preferred her moments with his former captain.

 _They look cuter together,_ he thought.

Himuro went to bed after a while, thinking of how he was going to propose to the golden-eyed girl. He was a bit annoyed at Murasakibara's lack of faith in him, but perhaps, a part of him argued, perhaps, Murasakibara was right. He might be fighting a losing battle all along. But then again, it won't hurt to try, right?

 _Right?_

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	27. 第27章

**Author's Note:** Probably one of the best chapters, ever, especially the last part where Kimiko is talking with Akashi's mother. Almost a confession, yeah?

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

 **第** **27** **章**

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

— **土** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **6** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Kyoto, Japan ****

 **京都** **、** **日本**

"Come on, Seijuurou... Seaweed isn't that bad," Kimiko chortled.

Across the table, Akashi gave her a look that obviously stated he didn't care one bit. Kimiko looked on in amusement as the redhead carefully avoided the seaweeds in his soup before resuming her meal. The two had gone for lunch at a nearby restaurant before heading to the manor on Akashi's insistence.

"Something wrong?" Akashi asked her.

"Nothing," Kimiko replied, though her narrowed gaze at him earlier bothered the redhead slightly.

"You've been eyeing me critically since lunch," Akashi said finally when they got back inside the limousine. "Is there a problem?"

"Hmmm..." Kimiko said carefully. "I asked you earlier but you lied to me, obviously."

The redhead's brows furrowed in confusion. "What—"

He stopped as the girl scooted close to him, her hands on his cheeks as she stared into his eyes that are slightly wide with surprise. She was close enough for him to be able to smell her shampoo — which he noted was still the same citrus-scent that she'd been using since middle-school. However, much as he liked their current proximity, she still owe him an explanation for her actions.

"Akumi," he said, "What are you doing?"

"Your eyes are red," she said, still not letting go of his face.

 _Red?_ "Of course, they are," he said with slight confusion. Where is she going with this?

Kimiko eyed him flatly. "I know, I know... What I mean by 'red eyes' is that they are bloodshot. Ne, Seijuurou," she pulled away from him and gave him a creepy smile, as if daring him to lie again to her. "Have you been getting enough sleep recently?"

Well, it's not like Akashi can lie to her in the first place.

"Of course I am." He fought the urge to rub his eyes, averting his gaze from her golden one, and sighed when she nodded at him to elaborate. "Well, I don't get eight hours of sleep, much less ten hours — but you already know about that, right?"

Kimiko had to agree with the last one. The normal amount of sleep for Akashi was six to seven hours — and that was back when they were still in Teikou. Now that they are in high school, Kimiko can only wonder if his father had increased Akashi's workload as well, and Kami knows if the redhead even have time to rest.

She flicked his forehead with her finger, earning an annoyed glare in response. "You're overworking yourself again, aren't you? How many hours have you slept last night?"

Guilt flashed through his face as he told her the truth. Well, part of it. "My workload is pretty much the same from what you have seen years ago, but high school life is more hectic than middle school and... You get my point. Especially now, since the Nationals are about to begin. Since I will be gone for a week, Father gave me more work to compensate for my absence, and..." _I finished a three-days' worth of paperwork overnight just to clear my schedule today, tomorrow, and next Saturday so that I can spend time with you._ Akashi pinched the bridge of his nose. "About three hours." _Well, more like two and a half —_ but Kimiko doesn't have to know that — she looked horrified enough as it is.

"Three hours? No wonder you look like hell!" Kimiko exclaimed in disapproval.

Did he really looked that worse? "That was only last night," he clarified. "The rest of the week I was able to sleep for six to seven hours, so it's not that bad."

"That's what you think, baka!" She punched him lightly in the arm. "You're not getting enough rest! One of these days you might suddenly get sick or something! Geez, you really need someone to look after you or else you'll overwork yourself to death! Tsk..."

Her phone suddenly rang.

"Who is it?" Akashi asked, noting the mixture of happiness and confusion in her eyes as she stared at the ringing device in her hands.

"Ah, it's Tatsuya," she replied as she accepted the call, missing the way her companion's eyes narrowed in response to her answer.

 _Tatsuya? Isn't that Murasakibara's teammate – Himuro Tatsuya? What does he want from Akumi?_

"Moshi moshi!" Kimiko greeted Himuro cheerfully, and Akashi gritted his teeth. Why does she sound so happy?

"Eh? You're already in Wakayama?" she nodded, then continued, "Ah, I just arrived in Kyoto." There was a pause as Himuro said something to her. She laughed. "Well, I'm going with Seijuurou, you see... Yeah, he invited me to go with his team." Kimiko's brows furrowed. "On Wednesday?" She tapped a finger on her chin, the way she always does when she was thinking of something. "I'm sorry but I don't think I can go with you on that day. Seijuurou has a game in the morning and I already promised my _kouhais_ in Teikou that I will watch their game in the afternoon, plus I have promised them dinner as well..."

Beside her, Akashi's frown deepened. So that Himuro asked Kimiko out... But when he heard her rejecting him, Akashi couldn't help feeling smug. _Hah_.

"Maybe another time, ne? Ja, see you tomorrow!"

Akashi was on her the moment she ended the call.

"What did he say?" Akashi asked, feigning disinterest so that he will not come out as jealous. _As if._ "And what was that dinner you were talking about?"

Kimiko turned to look at him, and she was smiling brightly. "Oh, the dinner!" she exclaimed. Whether or not it was intentional of her to ignore his first question, Akashi do not know, but then again, he'd rather talk about anything than that Himuro.

"Yes, the dinner."

"Seijuurou, are you busy on Wednesday afternoon?"

He raised an eyebrow at this. _Wednesday afternoon...?_ Akashi ran through his schedule in his head.

"No, I'm not. I am free after our game in the morning."

Kimiko beamed. "Great! Then what do you say having dinner with Shirogane-san and the Teikou team?"

"Very well. I'll watch their game with you as well."

"Thanks!"

Akashi then noticed that they were already approaching the gates of his house. He looked at Kimiko who was typing a message on her phone, probably to Shirogane-san informing him about the dinner. That, or she's texting Himuro. Akashi preferred the former. He tapped her shoulder twice to get her attention.

"Yep..?"

He gestured in front of them, as the tall iron gates opened to let their vehicle in. "We're here."

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

"Welcome back, young master!"

"Aa," Akashi replied to the line of maids and butlers by the entrance of the manor, heads bowed down in respect. He could sense their growing curiosity directed to his guest, though some of them probably remembered her when she came to visit here years ago. He waved a hand to dismiss them and they all scurried away to their tasks. One of them was already carrying Kimiko's bag to one of the guest rooms, another was heading to the kitchen to serve them some refreshments while a butler was leading them to the grand living room.

As they settled on the couch, Akashi noticed the slight tension in her shoulders and wondered about it. However, before he could give it much thought, the maid has arrived with juice and some biscuits, and thus he did not ask her about it.

"Would you prefer to rest in your room for a while?"

Kimiko nodded. She then poked his forehead with her finger. "And you should do the same." She frowned upon noticing the dark circles under his eyes. "You need to rest."

"I don't have to," he answered dryly, to which she snorted disapprovingly.

"Where's your father, by the way? Last time I visited, he's not around as well..."

 _As if I'd let you anywhere near him,_ Akashi muttered inside his head. He bit into his biscuit with controlled violence.

"He's rarely home. He's in Tokyo until Monday."

"I see."

Akashi changed topics — enough of his annoying father. "What do you want to do this afternoon?"

"For you to sleep," came her instant reply. She'd been bugging him about this matter while they ate lunch at a restaurant earlier — how he looks tired and all. Seeing the look of disapproval on his face, the girl faked a yawn and grinned in satisfaction when the redhead yawned in the contagious response.

"See? You're sleepy," she giggled, pointing at him.

"It's natural response," Akashi shot back. Well, that's what he had read somewhere.

"I think not," she retorted. Raising an eyebrow, she yawned again, long and deep, and Akashi had to cover the lower part of his face with his hand to hide his yawn.

"Akumi," he warned through gritted teeth, only for the girl to laugh at him openly.

"Come on, Seijuurou," Kimiko said mockingly. "Just sleep for the rest of the afternoon. It will do you good."

"I'm not leaving you to wander around here by yourself," Akashi huffed. _After all that I've done to be able to spend time with you..._

"And enough with the yawns," he added in mild annoyance. Already, he could feel something moist in the corners of his eyes.

Kimiko shut her mouth and pouted. "You're no fun."

This time, it was Akashi who yawned first. And sure enough, Kimiko followed suit. Realizing that she'd been tricked, she placed a hand over her mouth and shot a dirty look at the smug-looking redhead.

"SEIJUUROU!"

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Akashi was leisurely saying, "Mother spent most of her time there. She hates being left alone inside the huge house when father and I are not around. Mother loves being with nature; she's a Taoist. Father had always allowed her to do as she please, and so she created this secret garden inside the woods as her place of 'retreat'."

They sauntered over the granite stepping stones that led them deeper into the woods. Bundled in warm clothing, Kimiko clung to Akashi's arm as he told her about his mother's favorite place in the Akashi grounds. The stables were of course, his favorite place to hang out with — there is something comforting with the earthly smells and the sounds of the horses to the young heir, plus he likes tending to Yukimaru, brushing off his magnificent white coat diligently and giving him apples and carrots as treats. However, Kimiko had refused to go visit the horses, much to his disapppointment; he was about to show her Harukaze, Yukimaru's mate, one that his father had only gotten last year.

 _"No, we're not going there — you'll probably saddle Yukimaru in a flash and be racing the hell out there in the tracks before I can stop you, so no. No visiting Yukimaru. We'll do that tomorrow, okay?"_

Having said that, Akashi still refused to stay inside the boring walls of the manor and had invited Kimiko for a walk to the gardens instead, and that had brought them here.

"Father added these—" Akashi continued, pointing to the stones that they were walking on, "—and the pavilion a year after she died."

A word caught Kimiko's attention. "Pavilion?"

"Ah, you'll see in a little bit," Akashi replied with a soft smile. He always looked peaceful when he talks about his mother — it was painfully obvious to Kimiko just how much Akashi loved the woman that gave birth to him.

They continued down the path until they reached a wrought iron gate covered with white-blooming creepers that completely obscured the view behind it. Akashi reached into his pocket and produced an ornate golden key. Kimiko was busy looking at the moss-covered walls and the stone fox statues perched on the pillars on either side of the gates like some sort of guardians to the place. She barely noticed Akashi pushing the gates open until he tugged on her arm.

Suddenly, she felt like an intrusive guest. She pulled away from him and asked, "Ne, Seijuurou, is it alright for me to be here?"

They had stopped moving as Kimiko refused to take a step into the place. Akashi was looking at her incredulously as if she had just sprouted two heads or what. "What are you saying, Akumi? I brought you here, didn't I?"

"But still! I don't want to trespass on such sacred grounds..." she trailed off, feeling unworthy at the moment.

Akashi suddenly chuckled and reached out to hold her hand. "You're acting silly, Akumi," he said as he brushed his thumb across her knuckles. "If mother was still alive, she would have loved meeting you as well."

Kimiko swore her heart had skipped a beat a those words.

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The moment she laid eyes on the garden in front of her, Kimiko was speechless. It was like something straight out of fantasy. Who knew that such a heavenly place lies inside the dark woods?

The first thing that caught her attention was the lake, whose surface sparkled with its glittering waters, with lotus plants and water hyacinths floating leisurely here and there. The hedges surrounded it in rustic beauty, and luxuriant shrubs grew in pleasing order. Tall pine trees stood on the opposite shore and along their path, from whose branches the beautiful clusters of a wistaria hung in rich profusion. A sigh of the evening breeze shook them as they hung in the dappled sunlight, and scattered their rich fragrance towards them. There were also weeping willows near the edges of the lake, whose pensive tresses of new verdure touched the crystal clear waters underneath.

But what really captivated Kimiko was the small yet lavish pavilion in the middle of the lake, floating by itself like an isolated palace. Its crimson-tiled roofs rose in steep angles, lanterns and glass chimes hang around the edges, creating a haunting melody.

The place looks wonderful, really. Akashi led her to the dock at one side of the lake and assisted her in getting on the boat that will take them across the lake.

It was a short trip — the lake isn't that wide — and soon enough, Akashi was tying the boat on the pole at the receiving dock of the pavilion. With no great hurry, he opened the doors of the pavilion and Kimiko gasped behind him at the sight that greeted her.

A jade urn, its lid shaped in the form of a chrysanthemum. Unlit scented candles and incense sticks. Roses in red and white.

 _Seijuurou brought me to —_

Before her, the redhead had already crossed the room and was now on his knees, bowing in front of the well-cared _butsudan_ at the other end of the room. "Good afternoon, Mother. I brought Akumi with me, as promised."

What Akashi hadn't mentioned was that the pavilion — or rather, the garden as a whole — was Akashi Shiori's resting place.

A picture of the Akashi matriarch hung above the urn, and Kimiko can see that Akashi had inherited most of his features from him — if not all, had his father not intervened by forcing him to act cold, severe, and calculating. The same crimson hair, the same ruby eyes though hers were much, much alive and open with their emotions than her son's, the fine aristocratic nose... Perhaps the only difference between mother and son was the fact that his mother was smiling openly in the picture, while Akashi's lips are much more reserved in showing such displays of happiness. Still, Akashi had gotten his kindness from her. However, Kimiko can sense a hint of sadness in the dead woman's smile.

"Akumi," Akashi called out to her frozen form by the doorway, snapping her to attention.

"Kami, forgive me — where are my manners?!" she gasped as she hurried beside the amused redhead. She knelt in _seiza_ position, hands together in prayer as she brought them to her face and bowed low before the altar, palms laid flat in front of her, her thumb and index finger forming a triangle, her nose touching the polished wooden floor. "Good afternoon, Shiori-san. I hope you forgive my intrusion."

"You're not intruding," Akashi said once she had straightened up. "Mother has been expecting you for some time. She knows quite a bit about you."

Now, that surprised the chartreusette. Gold eyes regarded the male before her carefully as she accepted the hand offered to her to pull herself up.

"You told her about me?"

She watched as Akashi went out on the porch. It felt a bit chilly outside since it was still winter, and there was a slight breeze blowing over the garden, giving the occasional rustle. There were a few birds were chirping in the trees. Akashi remained standing before her, leaning against one of the pillars, his back to her as he murmured, "I tell her everything."

Kimiko remained inside, just a step past the entrance, and she sat back down, ankles crossed, arms wrapped around her legs bringing them close to her chest, her chin resting on top of her knees. When she didn't reply, Akashi turned to face her and she simply patted the space beside her, silently asking him to come sit beside her.

"You should at least have given me fair warning," she said sulkily as Akashi settled cross-legged on the floor.

"Hmm," Akashi replied noncommittally. Kimiko, finely-tuned to notice the slight changes in Akashi's demeanor, had noticed how relaxed the redhead had become once they stepped inside the place. And there was also that repressed excitement in those mismatched eyes as he led her here, akin to a child having a show and tell.

She heard him inhale, then held it in for a few seconds, before letting it out silently through his mouth.

 _There he goes again — hiding his yawns. If he doesn't want me to notice then maybe he should be more quiet with it._

She rolled her eyes as she straightened her legs before her. _Damn it, can't stop acting invincible, can you?_

"Seijuurou," she said in an annoyed tone as she pulled down on his shoulders. It was easy to get him to lay his head on her lap since he was not his usually sharp self — which only happens with her (Akashi always had his guard up — in his world, one cannot afford to show the slightest bit of weakness as there are always eyes watching your every move, waiting to catch that golden opportunity to strike you down). His head landed softly on her thighs, her hands on his arm to prevent him from getting up.

"Rest."

It was not an order, rather a request, almost a plea from the honey-eyed girl, her face a picture of concern. The two stared at each other until Akashi sighed in resignation. Moving his body, he might as well make himself comfortable — as comfortable as one can get on lying at the hard wooden floor for a bed. Kimiko can have a one-track mind sometimes.

 _And here I thought she'd already forgotten about it,_ Akashi idly thought as she played with his silky scarlet hair. _Apparently, my 'not-so-healthy' sleeping habits are a big deal to her._

Slim fingers massaged his scalp, and Akashi found the sensations very soothing. His eyes drooped and fluttered open as the girl hummed a quiet lullaby, punctuated once in a while by the sound of the chimes. He shifted and laid his head sideways on her lap.

Exhausted, Akashi Seijuurou was asleep within ten minutes of lying down.

When Kimiko was sure that Akashi was deep asleep and his breathing was even and steady, she slowly took off her jacket, minimizing her actions so as not to wake him up. She balled the garment and gently eased herself away from him and tucked the makeshift pillow underneath his head before standing up to search the pavilion for a real one (and a blanket, if she was that lucky).

Her search was fast and yielded excellent results. The pavilion is just a one big room: one can see everything in it with just a single glance. The altar seemed to be the one dividing the room in half — the right side was equipped for making tea (a small stove and a kettle for boiling water and cupboards containing an exquisite tea set and various kinds of tea) while the left side served as the living room, a low table and a large closet at the far wall being the only furniture there. Kimiko zeroed on the closet and opened it, and to her delight, it has the things that she needed. Grabbing the pillow and blanket, she went back to the slumbering heir and retrieved her jacket from under his head and replaced it with the more comfortable pillow, then draped the blanket over him. She had seen a futon in the closet as well and though it would be more comfortable than having to lie on the bare floor, Kimiko would rather not wake Akashi up.

True — she would have loved to spend time with him as well, but Kimiko was happier with this. Akashi needed to sleep – five hours would do him a world of good.

She knelt in front of him and peered closely at his face. His lips were a bit pale to her liking, and seeing as he fell asleep immediately, Akashi was indeed really, really tired. He's just good at hiding it.

 _Not from me though._

Looking at him, peacefully sleeping, Kimiko couldn't help but wonder. When she had gone off to France, who had kept him and his workaholic tendencies in check? Most likely no one. Who would? But most importantly, why would they? Problem with people are they place too much trust in the redhead that they don't think that he's capable of feeling tired as well. Yes, she knows how Akashi does things with perfect ease — as if everything was child's play to him. But of course, accomplishing such feats with all the grace and elegance is the norm to Akashi.

 _Seijuurou must look like a god to them,_ she mused, hugging herself.

But that's because they have **not** witnessed what **she** had witnessed.

They never saw Akashi glaring at a report like he'd rather burn the thing than to make the necessary corrections.

They never saw Akashi gripping a pen so hard that it could possibly break. (It actually happened twice though.)

They never saw Akashi running his hand across his face in sheer frustration when his father gives him a problematic business deal to work on.

They never saw Akashi — the ever calm and composed Akashi — rushing to finish his homeworks and projects just so that he could start doing his work for the company.

 _Aa_ , Kimiko nodded thoughtfully to herself.

 _Akashi-sama is perfect, ne?_ That's what everyone says.

But that's because they have **not** heard what **she** had heard.

They never heard Akashi, the ever polite Akashi, curse — yes, curse — under his breath when he gets tired of dealing with people whose levels of idiocy are just so damn frustrating.

They never heard Akashi, the ever capable Akashi, complain about his life and how tedious it gets at times, how his father is always so annoying all the time, how Aomine and Haizaki are always testing his patience, how the other girls irritate him when they call him 'Akashi-sama' and follow him around like lovesick fools —

 _'Akumi, stop laughing and don't you dare try imitating them just for the heck of it because it certainly is getting on my nerves.'_

— how the tofu soup in the school cafeteria tastes like shit —

 _'Akumi, your cooking is much better than this.'_

— how he'd rather be a professional shogi player or horseback rider than to be a freaking businessman, how all his father's business partners are a bunch of backstabbing, tongue-wagging fools, and a lot more how's and this and that and Kimiko finds it thoroughly amusing when the redhead would work diligently on whatever he is doing while going on a vicious diatribe on his chosen subject —

 _'Akumi, would you please stop laughing because it certainly is no laughing matter.' But seriously, how could she, when he was discussing how despicable seaweeds are and why they are even considered as food in such a manner as if he was talking about the upcoming Apocalypse?_

 _Hmmm, people and their ignorance._

 _Seijuurou hates those kind of people_. Kimiko sat back on her heels. Her eyes wander around the room and found herself staring at the picture of the smiling woman on the _butsudan_.

Akashi Shiori. The first woman that Akashi Seijuurou had ever loved — and one that loved him greater in return.

She stood up and went over to the altar and once again, she paid her respects. She bowed as low as she could, giving her utmost respect and gratitude to the one who bore Akashi Seijuurou into this world. It was too early to light the candles, and Akashi might awaken when he smell the incense, so Kimiko decided to just... talk.

Yeah, she wants to talk to Akashi Shiori.

She breathed deeply as she stared at the picture in front of her. Kimiko was saddened by what she was seeing. Akashi Shiori was too young, too beautiful, too kind and too caring to have an early death.

 _The world isn't fair, eh?_

 _And death doesn't discriminate._

"Good afternoon again, Shiori-san," Kimiko began in a silent voice and gave a cautious glance at her sleeping companion. When he didn't stir, she faced the _butsudan_ and continued, "Seijuurou told me that he had told you stories about me... I hope they're all good ones," she laughed sheepishly. "Well, I would like to introduce myself again — if that's alright with you, Shiori-san." She smiled as she gestured to herself. "I am Kimiko Akumi, and I've known Seijuurou since middle school." The chartreusette then launched into a brief narrative of her history with Akashi — starting from their first meeting and ending with the choking incident. She was surprised when something warm trailed down her left cheek.

"Eh?" She wiped it hurriedly with the back of her hand and gave an apologetic glance at the picture. "I apologize, Shiori-san. I didn't mean to cry in front of you." A period of silence as she calmed herself so as not to make her voice crack.

"Seijuurou shared to me his memories of you, Shiori-san, and I can clearly see how much you loved your only son... Well, Seijuurou is quite adorable at times — I wonder how he was when he was a child... He told me that you were the one who introduced basketball to him, and for that, I am very grateful, because that's what connected us in the first place. Thank you, Shiori-san, for giving me the chance to meet Seijuurou." Kimiko clasped her hands together and bowed in gratitude.

"Shiori-san, I care about Seijuurou as much as you did when you were still beside him. I know that he once sought comfort and security in your arms, but now that you're gone, I would like to ask your permission to continue doing that for him. I'm not asking to take your place, but you see, Shiori-san, Seijuurou pushes himself too hard. Someone has to keep an eye on him to make sure that he doesn't overdo it, that he doesn't have to sacrifice more than what he already had. He already has been denied a lot of things. A normal childhood. Paternal love. Freedom... I don't want him to be denied his happiness, too. It's the best I can do for him, so please allow me, Shiori-san. Allow me to take care of Seijuurou." She bowed once again, longer this time.

"Shiori-san, has Seijuurou told you about... About the kiss?" Kimiko blushed slightly in remembrance. She played with the ends of her coat. "Well, he said earlier that he tells you everything so... Shiori-san, did he told you why he did that? I might be wrong but I think his possessiveness level over me has gone through the roof. I didn't expect him to do that! A-and it was my first kiss, too... I'm sure Seijuurou is well aware of that — ne, Shiori-san, do you know that Seijuurou has this clairvoyant abilities in him?" she gave a short laugh. "But going back to our topic, I don't know... Is it his first kiss, too? Because...I am having doubts — not that I'm implying that Seijuurou has kissed a lot of girls before but... Shiori-san, I don't know what to make of it. We're best friends, then Seijuurou suddenly kisses me out of the blue and what does that make us now? I don't want to assume anything unless Seijuurou says something about it because I'm afraid that I might ruin our friendship, and I wouldn't want that to happen. Ever. Seijuurou is the best thing that has ever happened to me despite everything that had happened in the past and I would be the world's biggest idiot if I ever let him go. Uhm, am I sounding possessive? I think I am. Goodness, I don't know what to do, Shiori-san. Please guide me so that I will not do something stupid that I will regret later." Kimiko took a deep breath and touched her forehead to the floor.

"Thank you for listening to me, Shiori-san. It was nice talking to you. I apologize if I am quite a chatterbox — this is our first meeting and I'm already getting comfortable around you. Pardon me if you find it rude. I've been talking here for hours, ne? Yet, Seijuurou is still asleep. Guess he's really tired... See what I mean, Shiori-san? Oh, and has he told you that he only slept for three hours today? That's why I promise to take better care of him, Shiori-san, so don't you worry. Seijuurou will be in good hands. Trust me! So, until next time, Shiori-san. I hope to talk to you again. Again, thank you very much. For everything."

It was already getting dark when she finished her conversation with Akashi's mother. She lit the candles, bathing the room with a soft, warm glow. She saw the incense beside the candles and thought that maybe a little won't wake Akashi. She lit one and waved it over the _butsudan_.

"Thank you, Shiori-san."

She laid down the burning incense and clasped her hands together twice before bowing deeply until her nose touched the floor. She remained that way until she was satisfied she had properly paid her respects to Akashi's mother.

The sun was already setting — earlier than usual due to the season. Kimiko returned to Akashi's side and stared at his peaceful face, curling up into a ball himself. He held himself tight, his chin on top of his knees. She fixed the blanket around him and closed the door to keep the cold winds out.

 _I'll take care of Seijuurou, Akashi-san,_ Kimiko thought, as she bent down to kiss his cheek. A gentle breath escaped from the red head's lips.

A glance at her wristwatch told her that Akashi had been sleeping for four hours. She decided to give him another hour before waking him up. Hopefully, he'll wake up before the time was up. Kimiko would hate to disturb his rest.

His oh-so-needed rest.

She tiptoed around his body and took her place by his head and leaned against the wall. Talking by herself for four hours is quite tiring, she realized. Closing her eyes for a short nap, she failed to see the faint smile that appeared on the redhead's lips.

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	28. 第28章

**Author's Note:** A new character that will figure in later chapters is added. See if you can spot him, eh?

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **28** **章**

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— **日** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **7** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Kyoto, Japan ****

 **京都** **、** **日本**

Darkness greeted Kimiko the moment she opened her eyes. The LED display of the clock on the bedside table read 1:04 in the morning. Feeling thirsty, Kimiko got out of bed, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders, and went out of the guest room.

"Okay, so where is the kitchen?" she muttered to herself as she walked down the long hallway. She passed by Akashi's room but the lights were off and she doesn't want to bother him just because she needs a glass of water. Besides, she thinks that she can handle this herself.

 _Right?_

The manor was deathly quiet, Kimiko thought. Akashi had informed her during their dinner last night that aside from their head butler and the guards by the gate, all the other servants had gone off to their own homes. Apparently, Sunday was their day-off, to be spent with their own families. Nothing much needs to be done in the manor during Sundays; Akashi Masaomi was rarely home, and the heir can manage to live by himself in the manor for a day. That is, if he's not out practicing basketball with his club or playing _shogi_ in one of the several _shogi_ houses downtown.

"Do you need something, Kimiko-hime?"

The girl barely managed to stop the scream of surprise from coming out of her mouth when Tanizaki Akira, the Akashi's head butler, seemed to materialize out of thin air behind her. Seeing her obvious shock, the old man bowed down in apology, which only served to fluster Kimiko even more.

"I'm sorry if I surprised you, Kimiko-hime, but Seijuurou-sama had ins—"

Kimiko blinked and held her hands up, palms facing outward in a sign of surrender. "N-n-no, I'm fine! It's okay, Akira-san, no need to apologize; it's my fault for going out of my room at a time like this!"

Tanizaki straightened up after a moment and nodded at her in understanding. "Seijuurou-sama had stated to us clearly that you are to be treated the same way as him during your stay in the Manor. I would like to know if I can offer you my assistance, Kimiko-hime."

"Well, I'm on my way to the kitchen for a glass of water," she said a bit shyly. Then, in a tone that was more like her, she added with a smile, "And please, just call me 'Akumi'".

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"So you've been working for the Akashi's even before Seijuurou was born?" Kimiko asked the old man sitting on the other side of the counter. The two are inside the kitchen since the girl had insisted on getting her drink by herself, refusing Tanizaki's offer to just let him bring it back for her. Now, the two had been talking in the brightly-lit room for about an hour now, Kimiko with her blanket wrapped snugly around her shoulders, a glass of warm milk in her hands, like a grandchild looking up to her grandfather asking for a bedtime story.

Tanizaki took a careful sip from his own cup of tea before answering. "Yes... My family has served the Akashis for centuries. It's a tradition of sorts."

"Wow..." Kimiko's eyes shined with awe. "So you've met Shiori-san, right?"

"Yes, I have. Shiori-sama was a very nice person. Since she was always by herself in the Manor, she busied herself with gardening, cooking and horseback riding. Seijuurou-sama's horse, Yukimaru, was the son of Shiori-sama's personal steed, Natsuyuki." A fond look came in the elder's eyes as he remembered the late Akashi matriarch.

"Seijuurou also told me that it was his mother that introduced him to basketball."

The moment she said those words, the old man looked up at her in shock. "Seijuurou-sama told you about Shiori-sama?"

"Uh, yes? I mean, he even took me to the pavilion yesterday afternoon..." she answered with a bit of hesitation and confusion at the butler's question.

"Is that so? Kimiko-hime, if you don't mind me asking, what is your relationship with Seijuurou-sama?"

"I'm his friend from middle school," she replied, telling him half of the truth. She didn't mention the part that she was Akashi's best friend and the fact that they had already kissed once, because it seemed to her that Akashi had forgotten all about the incident since he did not mention it nor did he acted differently around her.

The kiss did not hold any kind of meaning to the redhead, nor did it affect him if his actions from yesterday were an indication.

And somehow, that disappointed her.

"Kimiko-hime? Kimiko-hime?"

Kimiko did not notice that she was spacing out for a while now that she jumped a little when Tanizaki tapped her lightly on the shoulder.

"H-hai?!"

Tanizaki smiled at her before taking the now empty glass of milk from her hands. "Kimiko-hime, maybe it's best that you return to your room and get some more rest. You will be traveling to Wakayama later and you'll need your strength. It's a long journey after all."

"Oh, you're right. And I'm sorry for keeping you up, Akira-san."

"It's nothing, Kimiko-hime. It was nice talking to you, Kimiko-hime. I can see why Seijuurou-sama likes you." Before Kimiko could react, the old butler had opened the door and motioned for her to follow him outside.

Kimiko stopped at the foot of the stairs and bowed low in gratitude to Tanizaki. "It's okay, I can manage from here. Thank you, Akira-san."

"If you say so, Kimiko-hime. Have a good sleep."

"Hm. You too, Akira-san."

They headed to their own rooms — Kimiko to the guest room and Tanizaki to the servants' quarters. The chartreusette walked quietly, careful not to make even the slightest sound so as not to wake Akashi. Just as she was about to turn her doorknob, a wailing sound echoed from the other side of the manor.

 _What the hell—!_ Despite her bravery, there are times when the chartreusette has her moments of being a scaredy cat, which happens only when she was caught by surprise. She froze on the spot, and another mournful sound followed, high and lilting, and soon a sad melody can be heard in the predawn darkness.

"It's a freaking violin!" she exclaimed under her breath, hand on her chest as she calmed herself. "Wait, so that means Seijuurou's up already?"

She followed the haunting melody until she reached the music room, its door slightly ajar. Only a single lamp was on, and its yellowish light made Akashi's hair look like it was on fire. He was standing in front of the window, curtains drawn, as he played for the sun that was yet to rise from the slowly lightening horizon. Kimiko stealthily stole into the room and settled on the couch, eyes closed as she listened to Akashi's music.

After a while, the song ended and Akashi lowered his bow and the violin. Without turning to her, he asked, "Did you like it?"

Not the least bit surprised, Kimiko answered, "It was beautiful. Although I find the tune very melancholic."

A moment of silence passed between them, until Akashi, in a low voice that was just loud enough for Kimiko to hear, told her, "My mother composed it while she was in the hospital." He returned the violin to its case before facing Kimiko fully.

"Akumi."

"Yes, Seijuurou?"

He glanced at the grand piano sitting at the center of the room. "Play for me?"

It was a very unexpected request coming from him, and Kimiko swallowed. "Uh, sure!" She felt slightly nervous as she stood from her comfortable seat on the couch and took Akashi's offered hand. He led her to the piano, and they sat side by side on the piano bench.

"So what do you want me to play?" she asked him as she tinkered with a few keys. Akashi leaned his head on her shoulder and murmured quietly.

"Whatever you want to play, Akumi."

"Okay... Then, you wouldn't mind if I sing while I play, ne?"

She felt him shake his head slightly but he kept his silence. Brushing away the fluttering feelings in her stomach, she took a deep breath and laid her fingers on the keys, playing another melancholic tune.

As the lyrics poured forth from her mouth, Kimiko and Akashi got lost in their reminiscing of the years they spent apart from each other. The redhead had his eyes closed, letting her beautiful voice wash over him.

 _ **How many days have passed like this?**_

 _ **The city, the crowd is fading,moving on**_

 _Akashi sat in the darkness of Rakuzan's student council room, staring at the students down below walking to the school gates, heading home, done for the day, while he, on the other hand, still had lots of work to do, as he took in the mound of paperwork on the desk before him._

 _Club practice ended half an hour ago, and his club mates were glad to be going home to rest after a grueling training._

 _No one bothered to stay behind. Not that he was expecting someone to do so — why would they, anyway?_

 _He closed his eyes and breathed._

 _In the silence, memories of days long gone resurfaced in his tired mind, of lazy afternoons spent in his middle school's basketball clubroom, of cheap ice cream and citrus-scented hair, of golden eyes and her lilting laugh that makes him laugh as well, of mundane conversations and promises of tofu soup for dinner —_

 _He sighed and opened his eyes and finally picked up a folder from the pile and went back to work._

 _ **Sometimes I wondered where you've gone**_

 _ **The story carries on, lonely lost inside...**_

 _The rain was quite unexpected, and Kimiko, still not familiar with the weather of this foreign country, had forgotten to bring her umbrella. So there she stood by the shed outside the school gates, thinking whether she would wait for the rain to stop or to make a mad dash for home which happened to be just around the corner. Several of her classmates passed by her and bid her goodbye, and though they offered to share their umbrella with her, Kimiko just smiled and shook her head politely._

 _However, she finds herself looking behind her as if she was waiting for someone. But for who? Was she, perhaps, expecting a crimson-haired boy to appear and pull her under his black umbrella, with that slightly annoyed look in his ruby eyes for not bringing her own with her only to be replaced with an amused one when she quips that it is a good thing that he is there to save the day, and then, his lips would curve upwards in a repressed smile as he agrees with her?_

 _All too suddenly, those kind eyes were replaced by broken crimson and gold, glinting with a madness for superiority and victory, as he perceived the world as a giant chessboard with himself as the player behind it, with the people around him as pawns to be used and sacrificed as he saw fit. His shattered gaze that shows only disappointment or satisfaction, of a dual-mindedness more clear-cut than black and white. The boy she knew was gone, replaced by a tyrant Emperor who cares only about himself and nothing else._

 _And so Kimiko ran out of her shelter and into the pouring rain to escape the memory that haunted her every waking moment. Her face was wet with drops of water, and one can only wonder if those were drops of rain or if they were her tears._

 _ **I had this dream so many times**_

 _ **The moments we've spent has passed and gone away**_

 _"Seijuurou!" Kimiko waved at him as she ran to where he was standing by the gates of Teikou. "Sorry, Coach Shirogane had something to tell me. Did I make you wait?"_

 _Akashi merely smiled gently and shook his head. "Kaerou?"_

 _ **Could there be an end to this — what I'm feeling deep inside?**_

 _"Hey, Seijuurou, have you ever gone to an arcade?" the girl asked as they went out of the convenience store where she had roped him into buying those fruit-flavored Popsicles that tasted just like frozen juice. Despite Akashi's look of disapproval, Kimiko jumped and sat on the railings outside the store, while the boy chose to stand beside her, his back against the metal._

 _"No, as I don't see the need to go. Besides, isn't that where Haizaki goes when he skips practice?"_

 _Kimiko raised an eyebrow at the hesitant look in Akashi's eyes as he took a lick of his strawberry-flavored Popsicle. "Well, you can do lots of things in an arcade. There are many fun games there, and then there are the prizes, too." She looked up at the sky then nodded determinedly to herself. "Okay then, after we're done eating, we're going to the arcade!"_

 _"Akumi —"_

 _She turned her head the other way, knowing that the uptight heir was going to refuse. Too bad for him, she's going to bring him to the arcade even if it meant dragging him by his hair. Okay, maybe that was a bit too much, not to mention impossible, but still, she was going to bring him to the arcade. Period._

 _"We're going to the arcade whether you like it or not." When he didn't answer, she turned to him and put on her best imitation of puppy eyes. "Please? Just for a few minutes?"_

 _Akashi only stared at her blankly._

 _"With tofu soup on top?"_

 _To her surprise, Akashi began to walk away. Jumping off her perch, she hurriedly tossed her Popsicle stick to the trash can and chased after him._

 _"Hey! Okay, fine! We're not going! You don't have to suddenly — Oof!" Her nose collided with his back when he decided to stop walking all of a sudden._

 _"What the hell!" Kimiko rubbed her nose with the back of her hand. "That hurts, you know!"_

 _He turned to look at her. "I want tofu soup for dinner."_

 _Her hand froze as she tilted her head at him in confusion. "O—kay? So —" and then realization dawned as she realized where they were headed, and she punched him lightly in the arm. She glared at him in annoyance as she yelled, "You —!" she huffed as Akashi chuckled at her. "That's it! I'll challenge you to a round of DDR later!"_

 _"What is a DDR?" he asked her as they resumed walking to to the mall where the arcade was located._

 _Kimiko grinned wickedly at Akashi's ignorance about such kinds of things. "Oh, just wait and see~" she sang as Akashi can only sigh at her actions._

I'm beginning to think that the promise of tofu soup is not worth the trouble I'm going to face this time, _he thought._

 _ **You know there's no looking no back**_

 _Kimiko cannot help the tears that fell from her eyes as the plane took off the runway. Through the glass window, she watched as the land of Japan became smaller and smaller until all she can see were clouds and the occasional blue of the ocean beneath them, visible through the gaps in the clouds._

 _No one knew about her departure — she didn't mention it to the phantom when they met for the last time in her apartment. Perhaps Kuroko had sensed it in the way she spoke to him, perhaps not. Then again, no one seemed to pay attention to her much lately. Everyone seemed caught up in their own worlds, shouldering their problems and building walls around themselves to keep everyone away. After that incident, though, Kimiko found herself doing the same._

It can't be helped, _she convinced herself._ One can only take so much before one gives in. No one can blame me for running away. Even Tetsuya had somehow given up on Daiki, yet...

 _She remembered the bluenette's promise to her._

Maybe he didn't. Maybe all Tetsuya was doing was a tactical retreat. He hasn't given up on them yet.

But _, she asked herself,_ what about me? Is this really the end of everything?

 _ **Glassy sky above, as long as I'm alive you will be part of me**_

 _Kimiko walked down the hallways of the grand French manor, dressed in something that looked straight out of a fairytale. Beside her was a similarly dressed boy who was taller than her by a foot and a half, with long plae blond hair that was kept in a braid down his back, with a skin as fair as hers and eyes a pair of emeralds set in a perfectly handsome face. He had his hands clasped behind him as he glanced at his half-sister whose existence was only made known to him only a year ago._

" _Are you sure about this, Akumi?" His tongue struggled to speak her foreign name, although the girl had no problems with speaking his own language as she replied to him in perfect French._

" _I've already settled things with the school administration. They're letting me finish the year through their online lessons program."_

 _The older boy sighed. "Won't you wait until the school year ends?"_

 _The chartreusette shook her head._

 _"You're set on going, aren't you?" he finally said, stopping when they reached the massive double doors at the end of the hall. One thing he learned from his half-sibling in the brief time he'd known her was that once she had decided to do something, she would not let anything or anyone to sway her from her decision._

 _Kimiko Akumi is just that stubborn._

 _And so he can only sigh and hug his sister. "Alright. I'll tell Father, but knowing him, he will let you do whatever you want." He glanced at the closed doors and said, "Sure you don't want me to go with you inside the lion's den?"_

 _An amused smile flitted on the girl's face._

 _"Thanks, Vincent." She brushed her dyed hair away from her face. "But I would rather talk to your Grandfather alone."_

 _He nodded. "Just... Stay safe, okay? I trust that you are making the right decision, Akumi."_

 _The girl heaved a sigh. "I hope so, brother. I hope so."_

 _ **Glassy sky above, the broken pieces of me**_

 _It was dawn, and the Akashi heir was lying wide awake in his spacious bed, not knowing why he can't sleep. A voice from deep inside his head surfaced, and an angry glint came in his sole golden eye._

You are not supposed to be here anymore, _he said to the ruby-eyed male who was staring back passively at him._

 _ **You are the one who's not supposed to be here**_ _, he countered, yet remained in the shadows, while the Emperor glared at him from under the light._

You created me, didn't you? _The Emperor leered at the ruby-eyed boy who sat in the darkness, his fists clenched in what he could guess as frustration, perhaps anger._ If only you weren't so weak, then maybe I wouldn't have been able to take over and preserve your dignity, to let your pride remain untarnished. An Akashi cannot lose, or have you forgotten that?

 _ **If I was given enough time, I could have prevented all this from happening. I could have done something to —**_

To what? _The Emperor cut him off with a mocking smile._ Have you failed to realize that everything is bound to fall apart? Well, it was good while it lasted, but good things always come to an end sooner or later. They don't last forever. Nothing and no one ever does. You've seen what happened to Mother.

 _The boy in the shadows shook his head._ _ **But she promised—**_

That she wouldn't leave you? _Heterochromatic eyes looked at him in mock pity as the Emperor laughed darkly._ Where is she now then? You've become too dependent on that girl. That is not a wise thing to do. You're opening yourself to her, trusting her too much, too easily. She makes you weak.

 _ **No! Akumi does not make me —**_

Hmp. Well, she had her use. But you've learned everything from her — she has nothing else to give to you. You had your own team now, and even without her, winning the InterHigh did not take too much effort. Even with the other Kiseki, they are simply no match for me. I am absolute. Remember that.

 _And with that statement, the ruby-eyed boy was swallowed up once again by the shadows that was his prison in his own head._

 _ **Glassy sky above, covers over me, over me...**_

Her voice faded along with the last note of the piano, and she shook her head lightly to clear her mind from all those depressing thoughts of the past. She was here now, with Akashi, and that's all that matters to her.

For a moment, she thought that Akashi had fallen asleep again when he finally stirred, lifting his head from her shoulder. He met her eyes and whispered a soft "Thank you."

She grinned back at him. "You're always welcome, Seijuurou — Eh?"

Akashi had stood up and taken her hand, pulling her up with him to where a vintage record player sat on top of a table. He turned it on and the mellow sound of classical music filled the air. He led her to the center of the room.

"Uhm, Seijuurou, what are we doing?"

The redhead only smiled at him, then held out his hands in what she recognized as the basic position for any kind of dance. She froze for a moment in disbelief, then sighed as she found herself reaching out for him. In the dim light, his eyes glinted warmly, and his stare made her feel a bit fluttery inside. The floor suddenly looked interesting to her. After that incident, looking directly at his eyes gets difficult at times.

"Akumi," he said in a low voice that she barely caught. "Don't look down."

She blinked, startled for a moment, and then she was looking right back at him. They stared at each other for a long moment before another smile — that smile he only uses around her — graced his thin lips.

"Shall we dance?"

Kimiko rolled her eyes. "Seijuurou, how many times do I have to tell you that I don't — Hey!" She gasped as he pulled her closer, just like he did when he asked for a dance on her balcony during Kuroko's birthday.

"Yes, you do. And don't worry, I'm here to guide you."

His voice sent shivers down her spine, especially when he said those words right in her ear.

"Really now... If you're not a basketball or a _shogi_ player, maybe you could just be a professional dancer," she said sarcastically as they began to move to the music. Seeing the slight curve of his lips, she huffed and muttered grumpily, "Or maybe you just like to tease me about the fact that I have two left feet..."

Akashi only looked on in amusement as he took her in his arms, leading her skillfully through the dance. As she mumbled her complaints to him while looking at anything but him, she seemed to not realize just how she moved with him. Back and two, forward and four, side, side, close, spin and back — Kimiko moved with a grace that she did not seem to realize that she possess.

He breathed in her scent, by now familiar. He sent her out on a close-hold spin, and she almost stumbled if not for his quick reflexes. He steadied her and she almost glared at him, if only she had gathered enough courage to meet his gaze.

As she mindlessly moved around, Kimiko cannot help but think that something about Akashi looked different, and she doesn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. She could feel her heart thundering in her chest as she moved, smoothly, under Akashi's arm and executed a drop. Akashi was almost surprised by how her movements flowed with his own, and he was amazed by how synchronized they together, as though they had been practicing for this time.

The music was ending, Akashi knew, and he wrapped his arm deliberately around her waist, stepping behind her and they remained in that embrace as the record player went silent. He could feel her breathing in and out a bit heavily, a bit worn out from their dance. His heart was beating faster, sounding a bit louder in his ears, though it's not out of exhaustion. He just prayed to whatever God or gods that was listening out there that she won't hear what his heart wanted to tell her so desperately.

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

"Ah, so she fell asleep," Akashi said to himself in mild amusement as he gazed at her sleeping face. "Liar," he added as he reached for the remote to turn off the movie that was playing on the television. The girl had said that she wasn't feeling sleepy yet, then suggested having a movie marathon in his room, only to fall asleep halfway on their first movie.

She had fallen asleep with her back resting against the headboard of his king-sized bed, her chin atop the pillow clutched in her arms. He contemplated waking her up, or maybe just carry her off to her room, but seeing her so peacefully slumbering, Akashi decided against it and got off the bed to just fix her position. Carefully, he took the pillow out of her arms then scooped her and laid her properly on the bed, brushing the hair out of her face. The hand on her cheek froze as she stirred, turning to lay facing his side of the bed, murmuring something incoherent. He breathed in relief when she didn't wake up, and he went to his closet to get another blanket for himself. As he laid down beside her, he squashed down the urge to do something like hug her or kiss her on the forehead or on the cheek, perhaps, when she stirred again, this time reaching out for something to hug. Thinking fast, Akashi grabbed the pillow that she was hugging earlier and replaced it in her arms. Thankfully, the girl took it in her sleep and went to hugging it tightly, burying her face in it contentedly.

"Hmmm, Sei...juu...rou..." she mumbled before settling down and back to her slumber, fingers clutching the pillow sheet tightly. Akashi's eyes widened and an unknown feeling bloomed inside him. He clicked his tongue softly.

"The things you do to me, Akumi," he murmured and with that, he, too, drifted to a dreamless sleep.

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 ****Tokyo, Japan****

 **東京、日本**

"Oi, Kise, what's up with you today?" Kagami asked the blond ace of Kaijou. It was a slightly chilly Sunday morning, and the two teams - Seirin and Kaijou - had agreed to travel to Wakayama together. Upon arriving at the station, Kagami had expected Kise to come over to them and fawn over his teal-haired teammate but surprisingly, it didn't happen. Even Kuroko looks concerned about his lack of enthusiasm.

"It's nothing, Kagamicchi," Kise mumbled as he continued his moping.

"He's been like that for the past few days," Kasamatsu said as he went over to the three first-years. He nodded at Kuroko's greeting, muttered something about the phantom's courteousness, then stood beside his _kouhai_. "The team was worried about him, but he won't tell us his problem."

Kise complained childishly, "But you won't be able to relate!" since his teammates were all hopeless when it come to girls.

Kasamatsu glared at him. "How can you even say that when we don't know what this is all about?! Ba—ka!"

"Itai!" Kise wailed as his captain whacked him on the back of his head. "Kurokocchi, Kasamatsu-senpai is a meanie!"

"Don't hide behind Kuroko, Kise!"

"Waaah~! But you might kick me!"

Kuroko scratched his cheek worriedly. "Uh, Kise-kun, Kasamatsu-san... Please lower your voices..."

At that statement, the two teens got ahold of themselves, shutting up immediately with Kaijou's captain looking slightly embarrassed with their behavior. But then, dealing with Kise always ends up in a shouting match, more often than not.

Suddenly, a blond foreigner latched herself on Kagami's arm, shocking him out of his wits, including the people around him - except Kuroko, that is.

"Alex! What are you —"

Alex shushed her student by placing her finger against his lips. She pouted at him. "Seriously, Taiga, not even a greeting? Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Alex-san, good morning."

Kuroko's words visibly brightened the American woman. Using the direction from where the voice came from, she was able to pinpoint the phantom's location and smiled cheerily at Kuroko.

"Kuroko-kun!" She bounded over to him and pinched his cheeks mercilessly, ignoring his protests. "Aww, your politeness is just so cuuuuuteee~"

"Oi, Alex—!" Kagami moved in to rescue his partner but fortunately, Alex released Kuroko before Kagami has to resort to drastic measures.

"Ne, Kuroko-kun, where's Kimiko-chan?" she asked, looking around them as she searched for the chartreusette. With a hair color like that, it would be impossible to miss her in the crowd, unless she's being blocked out of sight by someone taller than her. The girl was rather petite, after all. "She told me she'll be watching the tournament as well..."

Kise flinched at the mention of the girl's name. Her adorable blushing face was ingrained in his mind and every time he remembers it, a crippling pain would erupt in his chest, telling him that he will never have the golden-eyed beauty as long as a certain red-haired captain exists.

She can never be his from the very beginning — never has, and never will be.

"She's already in Kyoto with Akashicchi..." he muttered bitterly before walking away to rejoin his teammates huddled around their coach, a confused Kasamatsu trailing behind him, and Kuroko looking at Kise's retreating form knowingly.

An oblivious Alex suddenly slung an arm around the bluenette's shoulder. "So, can I have her number?"

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 ****Kyoto, Japan****

 **京都、日本**

Akashi was awakened by the sound of ONE OK ROCK's acoustic rendition of the English song "A Thousand Miles." The room was still dark, the lights still turned off and the curtains not yet drawn to let in the light of the sun shining brightly outside. He yawned slightly then looked over to his sleeping companion who was still hugging the pillow tightly like a scared child, lips partly open as she breathed softly in an even rhythm. _Looks like she won't be waking anytime soon_ , he thought.

He turned his attention to her cellphone. _Now, who would be calling her so early in the morning? And on a Sunday?_ Shrugging, he sat up and answered the call, frowning for a moment when he saw that it was an unregistered number.

 _A stalker?_

"Kimiko-chaaaan~" A female voice greeted him from the other end of the line. Akashi almost winced at the volume of her voice. "Ohayou~ Do you remember me? It's me — Alex."

 _The speaker seemed to be a foreigner,_ Akashi realized as he picked up on her accent. _American? An acquaintance from France, perhap_ s?

"She's still sleeping," Akashi said, not bothering to introduce himself.

"E-eh?" The speaker, who introduced herself as Alex, sounded a bit surprised. "A-ah, is that so... I'm sorry! I'll call her again later, sorry for disturbing you!"

And then she hung up.

"What a rude person," Akashi said out loud, frowning for a second time that morning. He placed Kimiko's phone back on the table and checked the time.

Eight thirty-seven.

Well, looks like they overslept.

"Akumi," he called out, softly at first. "Akumi."

However, the girl continued with her peaceful slumber.

"Akumi," he tried again, tapping her shoulder lightly. "Wake up."

"Mmmmm..." Kimiko buried her face in the pillow and resumed sleeping.

Akashi blinked. _Sleepyhead._

"Akumi," he said it louder this time. He tugged at the pillow in her arms. "Wake up — it's almost nine in the morning."

He successfully yanked the pillow out of her embrace, and a pair of golden eyes opened and glared at him furiously. He only smiled at her charmingly and greeted her a very pleasant "Good morning, Akumi. Did you sleep well?"

She flushed and made a grab for the pillow, but Akashi was quick to get it out of her reach. She pouted and turned to face the other side. "Whatever. I'm going back to slee— Hey!"

Akashi playfully whacked her lightly on the back of her head with the feather-filled material. He smirked as she glared at him.

"Seijuurou!"

"Who's the Sleeping Beauty now?" he asked. Kimiko almost laughed when he recalled the way she called him when she woke him up yesterday.

"It's you!" she pointed at him, trying to grab the pillow and failed.

"Oh? Then you're the witch, eh?" Akashi asked with a quirk of his lips as Kimiko's eyes widened at the familiar term. It was her moniker in the basketball club, the modern counterpart to her title as the _Tamamo-no-Mae_ of Teikou, but Kimiko herself seemed to take it good-naturedly. He remembered Kimiko dressing up as one during their Halloween party in first year, much to the amusement of the whole club.

"Wha-what?" She grabbed another pillow and tossed it forcefully at the smirking redhead with an indignant huff. "I'm not a witch!"

"But you cast a sleeping spell on me yesterday," he insisted as they held a tug-of-war on the pillow when she managed to get a hold on the one that Akashi was holding.

"I didn't!" The chartreusette gave up and pulled the blanket over her head in an attempt to escape the persistent redhead. "Just admit that you're sooooo tired that you fell asleep right then and there!"

"How am I to know that your humming is not some kind of an incantation?"

Kimiko snorted. "The hell are you talking about?"

"Playing innocent?"

"No, I'm — not!" Throwing the covers off her in a flash, Kimiko pulled the pillow that Akashi was using to her. "Shut up already!"

Akashi was chuckling inwardly to himself all the time. Kimiko was just too amusing at times, never a boring moment whenever she was around. He retaliated by tugging the pillow back, but Kimiko kept her hold, and due to Akashi's strength, he managed to pull her upright in a sitting position with it.

As the blanket fell from her shoulders, Akashi caught sight of the long sleeved shirt that she was wearing. It was dark red in color, and somehow it suddenly seemed _very_ familiar to him.

Without warning, Kimiko flopped back on the bed like a dead weight and since the two of them were holding on to the pillow and Akashi was caught off guard, he fell down on top of her, with the pillow being the only thing separating them. They stared at each other with wide eyes for a full minute before Akashi pulled away.

"We better head downstairs for breakfast," Akashi said after a moment's silence, awkwardness suddenly filling the air around them, and it was choking him.

"Yeah, I think so," Kimiko replied in a subdued voice as she sat up. She was again reminded of the kiss but seeing Akashi's serious face, she hit him square on the head with the pillow and jumped out of bed, sticking her tongue out at him childishly as she laughed at his dumbstruck expression. When his eyes narrowed in acceptance to her challenge, Kimiko bolted out of the room in a fit of giggles and ran to her room at the end of the hallway and slammed the door behind her.

Back in the redhead's room, Akashi shook his head as he looked at the mess his bed had become. So, maybe having a mini-pillow fight is not a good idea, he mused as he fixed the covers. When everything was all spic and span, he went to the bathroom to wash his face. He was still drying his face with a towel when Kimiko knocked on his door. He can tell it was her since they were the only ones left in the manor as Sundays were the off-days of all their servants, except for the guards and Tanizaki, of course.

"Seijuurou?"

"Come in," he said as he stepped out of the bathroom. Kimiko entered at the same time and she flashed him her signature mischievous smile as she settled on the chair of his study desk.

"What's for breakfast?" she chirped immediately.

"Hungry?" he teased, and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Duh. Isn't it obvious? Now hurry up, will you? I'm starving I could eat an elephant."

Akashi chuckled at her theatrics and together, they headed to the kitchens. On their way down the stairs, he suddenly reached out for the hem of her shirt and flicked it upwards. Sure enough, the kanji of his surname was there — embroidered in gold thread.

"So this is where it went," Akashi snorted as Kimiko slapped his hand away. This was certainly the shirt that had vanished mysteriously during their first summer training camp. After several years, he finally found it — turns out that Teikou's former first string coach had it all along.

"So what? You have a lot others like this in your closet anyway," the chartreusette reasoned as she hugged herself. "This is mine now so hands off."

Akashi can only raise an eyebrow at her. Not that he was going to complain though — the shirt looks a bit loose on her slender figure but its deep red color compliments her pale skin and chartreuse hair. In short, it looks good on her.

"You should have just asked me that you wanted to have it."

"Like how? Should I go up to you and say, 'Hey Seijuurou, I like your shirt. Can I have it?'" She crinkled her nose. "Makes me sound like a weirdo..." She laughed at herself and Akashi cannot help but join in. As their laughter echoed in the halls of the manor, the heir cannot help but think that it really was a fine day.

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

"Come on, Captain said to meet at one o'clock!" Hayama grumbled as he trudged behind an overly smiling Mibuchi. Behind them was Mayuzumi who has his nose buried in a light novel, ignoring the world around him.

"Better to be early than late," Mibuchi replied cheerfully. "Now, where did Eikichi said he was pigging out at?"

"The _ramen_ shop near the station," Mayuzumi answered, not taking his eyes off the page. Mibuchi turned to him and clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"Mayu-chan, it's not safe to read while walking. You might bump into someone," he admonished, making a swipe at the book in the gray-head's hands. Mayuzumi calmly sidestepped to the left to avoid Mibuchi, which irritated the _Yaksha_ slightly.

"Mayu-chan!"

"Oh look, there's Ei-chan!" Hayama suddenly exclaimed, and Mayuzumi was grateful for the distraction. His light novel is safe.

 _For now,_ he sighed to himself. Rakuzan's shooting guard has this annoying habit of mother-henning all of them — even their ruby-eyed Captain! — and to Mayuzumi, Mibuchi seems to greatly disapprove his hobby of reading those "waste of paper" and "a shame to literature", as the raven-head had so articulately put it.

 _"You're better off reading poems!" Mibuchi proudly declared, brandishing a book on Basho's_ haikus _and then kissing the cover lovingly._

Mayuzumi went bug-eyed as he heard Mibuchi's voice in his head.

"Eikichi, why are you eating so much! We won't be playing today, you know!"

 _Hmp, there he goes again,_ Hayama and Mayuzumi thought at the same time as Mibuchi went on to nag Nebuya at the amount of his food intake.

The three took the remaining seats on Nebuya's table and each ordered a bowl of ramen. It was still eleven-fifteen, but since Nebuya had already started eating his lunch, the three of them decided to eat theirs as well. And because they would look stupid if they would merely join their center on his table and just watch him eat.

They were still waiting for their food to arrive (Nebuya had ordered another bowl despite Mibuchi's attempt to stop him) when a new customer - or rather, customers - entered the shop.

"I'd rather have _ramen_ than Italian pasta," a female voice said to her companion. "And look, they serve tofu soup here as well!"

"Akumi, just because I like tofu soup doesn't mean that it's the only thing that I would eat," a smooth, male voice replied. The four basketball players stiffened in their seats. Why does it sound so much like the point guard of their team?

"And besides, having the same meal for breakfast and lunch is a bit too much," the voice continued, sounding mildly amused.

"Really now, Seijuurou?" the female voice retorted. "You had tofu soup for dinner last night, and tofu soup for breakfast today, yet you did not complain."

"You're the one who made it, so why would I?"

"Tsk. Fine, I'm letting you off the hook since you complimented my cooking. Now, what kind of _ramen_ would you have?" she asked.

"What would you have?"

"Hmmm, seafood sounds good to me..."

"Two seafood _ramen_ , please."

"Uh, Seijuurou, seafood means seaweed, you know."

"I can manage."

Four heads snapped to the direction of the counter and found themselves staring at the back of one Akashi Seijuurou with a lime-haired girl whose arm was looped around one of Akashi's own.

"It's THE girlfriend!" Mibuchi hissed as they huddled closer to each other, Mayuzumi only doing so as Mibuchi was holding him down by the nape. "What do we do?!" He glanced at the redhead who was pulling his wallet out and paying for their order. He returned to his companions. "It's a freakin' date — Sei-chan's paying!" Mibuchi also took note of their bags. "She's also coming to Wakayama with us!"

 _Akashi? With a date? During the Nationals?_

"Where do you want to sit?" They heard Akashi ask his "girlfriend."

"Over there — Wait. Aren't they your teammates?" Kimiko said, having recognized the Rakuzan team from the pictures that Akashi had shown her that morning.

All four froze.

What the hell.

 _She just had to notice us, eh?_ Mayuzumi thought wryly. And maybe they shouldn't have stopped moving naturally since it makes them that much obvious that they had been eavesdropping on Akashi and his "girlfriend."

Akashi nodded as he looked in their direction. "Yes, they are my teammates. Come, I'll introduce you to them."

Despite his panicky state, Mibuchi was able to give his teammates a deadly serious stare that says, "Behave!" before putting a hand on his chest to calm himself down.

Footsteps and then, the two were standing by their table and Mayuzumi was quick to acknowledge their captain.

"Akashi."

Kimiko watched as Akashi nodded to a tall, gray-haired boy who has a book in his hands. His aura was eerily similar to a certain teal-haired phantom, but at the same time, it has a different shade to it.

"Mayuzumi-san."

A hyperactive-looking blond with emerald eyes made a peace sign at them and said in a lively voice, "Captain!"

"Yo, Akashi," a muscular teen with skin as tanned as Aomine's said. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up carelessly despite the cold weather, and it seems that he had been eating for quite a while now, the evidence being the stacks of empty _ramen_ bowls in front of him.

"Hayama, Nebuya."

"Sei-chan, good morning!"

 _Wait_. _Sei_ -chan?

Kimiko blinked and looked at the androgynous guy with silky, raven hair who had called Akashi in that cute name.

"Mibuchi."

Akashi seems to not mind the way the Mibuchi-guy called him as he didn't say anything aside from that. Which made her curious, of course.

"Everyone, this is Kimiko Akumi."

" _Hajimemashite_ , _dozo_ _yoroshiku_!" Kimiko bowed and smiled at them. "A pleasure to meet Rakuzan's basketball team!"

Before any of them could say anything in reply, a waiter with a tray containing their orders arrived at their table, followed by another who has Akashi and Kimiko's food.

"Sir, will you be joining their table?" the waiter asked Akashi, who looked at Kimiko for confirmation.

"If it's alright with them," she replied, tilting her chin towards his teammates.

"Let's eat together, Captain!" Hayama answered for the team, and the waiters placed the steaming bowls of _ramen_ on the table, bowing to them politely before leaving to get their drinks.

Kimiko sat beside Mibuchi, with Hayama, Mayuzumi, and Nebuya across her. Akashi sat next to her. She picked up her chopsticks and was about to split them apart when the blond spoke to her.

"Ne, Kimiko-san, how long have you and Captain been dating?"

At Hayama's question, Akashi heard Mibuchi whisper harshly to the blond that he was being too straightforward. Akashi sighed inwardly. He glanced at the chartreusette beside him who was yet to answer the question. She did not flinch nor did she get surprised — maybe it's because too many people had asked her the same question that she had already gotten used to it. The redhead then wondered, _What do we have that people automatically assumes that we're together?_ He reached for his glass of water and pondered on that matter.

Akashi was taking a sip of water when Kimiko reached for his left hand. He thought that she was getting his attention but that wasn't the case, as she was looking at Hayama. And so, he continued his business, when suddenly, he heard her speak in that tone of voice that warned him that she was going to say something ridiculous.

"Actually, we're already married."

Akashi's eyes widened as he choked on his water. His teammates were in equal shock at the girl's statement. He coughed and Kimiko turned to her in concern.

"Eh? Are you alright, Aka-chan?" she asked, taking the glass from him lest he spill its contents and placed it back on their table.

 _Aka-chan?_

Akashi's coughing worsened.

 _Seriously, is she trying to kill me?_ Akashi thought dimly as he tried to regain his composure.

Despite the situation, Kimiko cannot help but giggle, causing the redhead to glare at her. She just smiled as she rubbed his back, as if she did not just pull a prank on them all. After a while, Akashi straightened up, and cleared his throat painfully.

"We're —"

"— not dating." Kimiko ended his sentence for him.

"We're —" Akashi began but she interrupted him again.

"— just close friends."

He fought the urge to face-palm. "Akumi..."

"Yes, Aka-chan~?" she answered with her mischievous smile on her lips.

The redhead exhaled. "Don't call me that." The expression in his crimson eyes seemed to say, _Do I look like a baby to you?_

"But he calls you Sei-chan!" Kimiko complained, pointing to Mibuchi who sweatdropped, while Akashi only stared.

After a few minutes of staring at each other's eyes, Kimiko threw in the towel. "Fine." She picked up her chopsticks again and clasped her hands together when Akashi suddenly leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"Would you mind if I call you 'witch'?"

An elbow in the side made Akashi wince. He chuckled quietly as the girl hissed, "Seijuurou!"

 _So this is the girl who makes Akashi happy_ , Mayuzumi said to himself as he watched their captain interact with the golden-eyed stranger. For some reason, Mayuzumi felt like she had seen her before. But where?

On the other side of Kimiko, Mibuchi was looking at the pair in wonder and amazement. He has never seen Akashi act this playful before. Their captain had always been serious yet polite, with reserved smiles and casual nods, the perfect heir to one of Japan's wealthiest families. And despite returning to his old self, Akashi was still particular with people knowing their places around him, and though he — or rather, she — had told them that they were nothing more than close friends, Mibuchi can't accept that the two were just that — friends — because looking at their captain's genuine smile as he talks to her now just made it clearer to the raven-haired boy that this Kimiko Akumi is clearly someone that's very precious to Akashi.

"Whatever, I'm eating now! _Itadakimasu_!"

Well, seems like the winner of their argument was the emperor, who was smirking smugly before finally turning to his teammates whom he had been ignoring for a while now.

"Let's eat before our food gets cold."

The five boys said their grace before eating, and once again, Hayama started the conversation.

"Where did you meet Kimiko-san, Akashi?"

"She's my classmate in Teikou." Disappointment mixed with disbelief flashed across Mibuchi's face. He wanted to say, _Really? You're that comfortable with each other and you're just that — friends? Really?_

Mayuzumi recalled something. _Teikou? Could it be..?_

"Teikou's first-string coach...?"

"Hmmm?" The girl blinked at Mayuzumi.

Feeling that she was demanding an explanation, Mayuzumi nodded, a bit self-conscious now. _Maybe I shouldn't have spoken that out loud. Her eyes are just as unnerving as Akashi's Emperor Eye._

"It was during your second year in Teikou, your second Nationals championship. You were introduced as the coach at the start of the finals match."

"You're already in high school yet you're watching the middle school games?" Nebuya pointed out.

"I was curious about the so-called Kiseki no Sedai," Mayuzumi answered flatly.

"You three are part of the _Mukan no Goshō_ , right?" She nodded in Nebuya's direction. "Nebuya Eikichi, the _Gōriki_ ; Hayama Kotarou, the _Raijuu_ ; and Mibuchi Reo, the _Yasha_. Am I right or am I so right?" Without waiting for a reply, she continued, "Who are the other two again, and where are they now?"

This time, Mibuchi answered her. "Kiyoshi Teppei's in Seirin with Kuroko-kun, while Hanamiya Makoto is in Kirisaki Daichi. He's still unpleasant as ever. Kiyoshi is already in America to have his knee treated. It's an old injury caused by Hanamiya, and it seems to have worsened after the Winter Cup."

"Kiyoshi better get himself fixed. We still have a rematch in order," Nebuya grumbled then proceeded to order another bowl of _ramen_.

Kimiko, as always, was at total ease with Akashi's teammates, conversing with them like she didn't just meet them less than an hour ago. She even remembered the times when Teikou played against their former schools back in middle school. How she managed to remember the faces and names of almost every player they've come across on the court during their Teikou years was a never-ending puzzle for Akashi. Maybe she's just that observant, which served her well during the time she was given the position as the first-string coach of Teikou's basketball club.

Kimiko finished first, and excused herself to the washroom. When she was gone, Mibuchi found himself asking Akashi, "Ne, Sei-chan, how come we haven't seen her before? What is her school, anyway?"

Their captain swallowed his food first before answering. "Akumi just came back from France last month. I believe she's taking online lessons from her French school to finish her first year there, but this coming spring, she will be studying here in Japan."

"Did she mention what school she chose to go to?"

Akashi paused, then said, "Not yet, but I am hoping it's Rakuzan."

It was at that point when the girl returned to their table. Back in her seat, she looked at Nebuya and wondered aloud, "Do you plan on eating everything here?"

"I need them for my muscles," was the only reply she got before Nebuya waved the waiter again and said, "Another pork miso _ramen_ , please!"

Suddenly, she got an idea. Rummaging in her duffel bag, she took out her DSLR camera and grinned at her companions. "Photo-op!" She held the camera to her eye. "Hey, Eikichi, smile!"

A flash and a picture was taken in an instant.

She held back a laugh as she looked at the picture. Mibuchi and Akashi leaned over her to take a peek. The photo showed Nebuya holding a bowl of ramen, noodles hanging out of his mouth, eyes wide in surprise.

"Let me see, let me see!" Hayama was jumping out of his seat in excitement, and Kimiko chuckled as she showed it to the blond forward, who immediately cackled at the sight. As he was busy laughing, he didn't notice that Kimiko had taken a picture of him in that state, with a bug-eyed Mayuzumi beside him.

The Rakuzan team plus Kimiko finished their lunch fifteen minutes before one o'clock. They got held up that long because of one muscled center who has a black hole for a stomach and wouldn't stop ordering seconds until Akashi himself deemed it necessary for him to tell Nebuya to stop.

"You're worse than Daiki and Taiga combined!" Kimiko teased as they went out of the ramen shop. She requested a waiter to take a picture of them all at the table, not noticing the glare Akashi sent to the poor man when Kimiko handed over her DSLR to him.

They headed to the station in a bit of a hurry to catch the one o'clock train to Osaka, where they will switch trains to get to Wakayama. Mayuzumi volunteered to buy their tickets, and as their train arrived, the team boarded and seated themselves as indicated on their tickets.

Akashi and Kimiko were together at the front, while Mibuchi and Mayuzumi was behind them. Hayama and Nebuya was seated on the opposite row.

Kimiko got her iPod to listen to music. She plugged in one of her earphones in her ear then offered the other to Akashi, who wordlessly took it and put it in his ear. Kimiko then leaned her head on the boy's shoulder as she scrolled down her playlist. Settling for Yui Makino's "Ao no Kaori," she pressed play and sang softly along.

It was halfway into the chorus when her phone suddenly rang, and she cursed softly, making her seatmate chuckle at her.

" _Moshi_ _moshi_ , Akumi _desu_."

 **"Kimiko-chan~! I called earlier but your roommate told me you were still asleep~"**

"Alex!" Kimiko laughed. "Ah, sorry about that — I overslept."

 **"Mou, Kimiko-chan, you didn't tell me you were going off to Kyoto... And here I thought that you will be going with us to Wakayama~"** Alex complained, and the chartreusette can almost see her pouting on the other end of the line.

"Oh? You're with Seirin now?"

 **"Yup. And Kaijou's here, too."**

"Really? Please tell Tetsuya and Taiga my greetings. Oh, and Ryouta and Yukio-senpai, too!"

 **"Sure, sure... So, see you in Wakayama later?"**

"Hai! We can go for some girl-bonding, then~" Kimiko chirped, making the blond laughed.

 **"Okay then. Not that it's a bad thing, but being surrounded by boys all the time is somewhat tiring, eh?"**

Kimiko giggled. "Yeah, right. So, see you later, Alex!"

 **"Okay. Ja, Kimiko-chan!"**

When Alex hung up, Kimiko looked up at Akashi and said, "You didn't tell me that Alex called me this morning."

"I — forgot."

"Got a lot on your mind?" she asked with concern.

Akashi shook his head lightly. He totally forgot about the phone call, which was very unusual for him because he's not one to forget things easily. And no, it's not because he's thinking about other things — it's just that, he's too focused on the golden-eyed girl with him. But then, he can't tell her that now, can he?

Since he didn't say anything more, Kimiko shrugged. "Well, Alex is just asking me if I will be watching the Nationals. She's with Seirin and Kaijou, and their on their way to Osaka as well. If we're lucky, we might bump into them at the station."

Akashi nodded, then said, "I didn't know you were acquainted with Kise's captain."

The way the redhead stated that fact made her go bug-eyed for a moment. "Really, Seijuurou... Ryouta brought him along when he showed me —"

"Showed you what?" Akashi asked, wondering why the girl suddenly stopped speaking, and when he looked down at her face, he was surprised to see that she was blushing.

His eyes narrowed.

 _Just what did that blond copycat showed her?_

When she remembered that modeling job she had with Kaijou's ace, it brought along the recollection of that kiss she had with the person beside her, and she felt the blood rush to her cheeks in embarrassment.

 _Go away!_ she screamed to herself, willing those thoughts away, but her efforts were all in vain. Kimiko doesn't have to look to know that Akashi was looking suspiciously at her, probably wondering why she suddenly stopped speaking.

"Akumi—"

"N-nothing! He just happened to tag along with Ryouta and..." she trailed off again, cursing herself for acting so obvious, and cursing Akashi for acting like he was jealous when he didn't even cared about the kiss — _Damn it._

He can sense that she was not telling him something, but decided not to pry into it right now. So he nodded and said, "I see."

Kimiko sighed in relief, which didn't escape his sharp eyes.

 _Just what are you not telling me, Akumi?_

"Seijuurou, if you keep frowning like that, you'll get wrinkles. Or are you imitating Shuuzo?"

Akashi blinked, then shifted his gaze to his hands. "I'm not frowning."

"Okay, scowling then," Kimiko tried again, and giggled when Akashi looked at her in exasperation. She held up her hands in surrender. "Okay, I'll stop... But seriously, you look like you're trying to burn a hole in the seat in front of you. Is something wrong?"

Her voice turned serious when she asked him that, and Akashi sighed.

"Sometimes, you knew me too well," he said out loud, not bothering to keep the thought to himself as it was the truth.

"Sometimes," Kimiko agreed with a laugh.

"And you're not going to stop until I tell you about it," he added, more of a statement than a question, and the girl chuckled, leaning her head momentarily against his shoulder.

" _Sometimes, you knew me too well,_ " she imitated his words from earlier and was pleased when she saw the tension leave his shoulders and his posture relaxed once more. Akashi had been silent, and she could only guess that he was thinking about something important, whatever that might be. It could be an unfinished business proposal that his father had given him to work on, or he could be planning their strategies for their matches... "Say, give me ten things you know about me," she challenged him, just to get his mind away from whatever it is that was bothering him, and he smirked.

"Ten?"

"Heh, too many for you, Akashi-sama? Oww!" She glared at him and rubbed her forehead where he flicked it with his finger.

"Don't call me that, and no. I was just surprised that you only asked for ten. I can give you more, if you'd like."

An indescribable feeling came to her upon hearing those words but Kimiko was quick to squash them down as she stuck her tongue out at the red-head.

"Very mature, Akumi. Shall I start, then?" Without waiting for her consent, he began enumerating on his slender fingers as he spoke in that rich, smooth voice.

"One, you tend to chew on your lower lip when you are thinking really hard about something. Sometimes, you prefer the end of your pen. Two, you like those mechanical pens that makes a clicking sound when you press them to make the tip appear. It seems the louder the sound, the better. It helps you ease your boredom. Three, you hate cucumbers, and everything that taste like it. Watermelons, melons, cantaloupes... But you still manages to swallow the cucumbers when they're in your burger. Then you'll drink lots of water or juice just to drown out the taste of it on your tongue. Four, you never leave your jacket but ties it around your waist so that you can carry it wherever you go. Five, you absolutely hates it when someone belittles you just because you're a girl, but there's a part of you that enjoys it because whoever it is won't know what will hit them because they underestimated you. Six, you crack your knuckles when you're feeling uneasy or nervous. You do this single-handedly, too, using your thumb to press down on your remaining fingers on the same hand. Seven, when you're telling a lie or tricking someone, you tilt your head slightly to the right. Eight, you twirl a lock of your hair around your finger when you're unsure about something. Nine, you don't cry when you watch a sad movie about humans, but when it's about animals, you're reduced to a sobbing mess. And ten, when you eat, your food is properly divided on your plate. You would use a separate bowl for the sauce rather than drip them all over your food."

"Okay, okay, point proven." _Damn, I'm beginning to wonder if this guy has x-ray vision,_ Kimiko thought, her mind still reeling at the things he had said about her. The slightest of her habits, the most trivial actions did not escape his eyes.

"I can go on," he said with another smirk, relishing the look of wonder in her golden eyes.

She held up a hand. "No. It's my turn so shut up."

Akashi chuckled, not feeling offended by her words in the slightest.

"Okay, so here's ten facts about Akashi Seijuurou," she began and Akashi's lips twitched in amusement. "I'll skip the tofu, wakame, shogi, and Yukimaru because that's pretty obvious, but here goes... For some reason, you don't like sweet things but you tolerate eating bitter-sweet things, like dark chocolate or coffee-flavored ice cream and all that stuff. You like classical music but you don't like opera music because it hurts your ears. You always lace your left shoe first. Your put your duties and responsibilities first before your personal desires. You take care of others far more than you take care of yourself. You prefer earning something through your own hard work than having it served to you on a silver platter. You don't really care much about names, just as you don't really care about the Akashi name. You hate it when people treat you differently just because you're an Akashi or just because you do things better than they can. You wriggle your toes when you're getting impatient. When it's not your own bed, you always sleep while lying on your right side. You love going to festivals and visiting historical places. And you'd rather drink tea than coffee or milk. And you like watching the sky, the rising and setting of the sun, the bright moon and the stars at night. And you like having someone to talk to about philosophy, politics **—** you know, everyday stuff," Kimiko rolled her eyes in sarcasm. Everyday stuff, indeed. "Simply put, you want a debate opponent," and then, Kimiko laughed. "That's more than ten, eh?" Her eyes were shining with mirth, and it was just infectious that Akashi chuckled as well.

"I'm afraid you've forgotten basic counting," he teased, as if to hide his surprise at just how much Kimiko knows and understands him. No wonder she never gets angry or disappointed unlike the others when he turns down their invitations after school back in Teikou. Especially those people outside the basketball club, the ones who were brave enough to approach him and attempt to make friends with him. There's no way he won't hear them grumbling whenever he rejects their invite for an afternoon in the arcade, how they talk behind his back, how they think that Akashi thinks that he is too good for them, that someone like Akashi would never eat something as cheap as the popsicles bought from the nearby convenience store. Suddenly, he realized something. "How did you know about my toes? And I wasn't aware that I sleep like that when I'm in a foreign environment."

Kimiko merely raised a single eyebrow at him. She held a finger at him matter-of-factly. "I noticed that after all those festivals we've gone to. And I've seen you barefoot in my apartment. As for your sleeping habits, blame the training camps, since I sleep in the same room as you guys."

Akashi nodded. It shouldn't be that much of a surprise, Kuroko probably knows all that, maybe not, as he is good at observing people and picking up their habits — Akashi himself being the one who ordered Kuroko to do that so as to use his misdirection more effectively on court. For the phantom sixth man, it was a necessity to know all those things but for Kimiko, the same cannot be said. How and why she does that, Akashi do not know. So she not only knows all their personal information, their birthdays and addresses, but it would be not far from the truth that she knows the _Kiseki_ _no_ _Sedai_ inside and out, perhaps even better than they knew themselves.

"I see," he said, just as her phone beeped with a message. Akashi brought a knuckle to his lips to suppress his chuckles as Kimiko sighed in an overly exaggerated manner and muttered darkly to herself as she opened it.

"Can't a girl ride a train in peace— Oh." She seemed surprised, and being the curious being that he is, Akashi cannot help but ask her about it. Everything about Kimiko just seem to interest him, no matter how trivial it might be. Or perhaps it's because of her year-long absence that Akashi was hyper-aware of everything that concerns her... Who knows?

"It's Ryouta," she answered with a shrug of her delicate shoulders. "He says that the magazine was released today and that our pictures gained a lot of positive reviews and that I should be on the lookout for— Damn." Kimiko brought a hand to her face.

 _Ah, the troublesome magazine._ "For what?"

Kimiko shot him a weary look. "Paparazzi. You know, those camera-toting freaks..."

"You shouldn't have agreed to the photo shoot in the first place," Akashi cannot help but tell her that, a hint of irritation in his normally calm voice. "Then we wouldn't have to deal with them."

At that, Kimiko frowned. "What's with you all of a sudden?" One moment they were just teasing each other and just having a nice conversation, then the next, he was mad at her. Talk about mood swings.

Akashi took a deep breath to calm himself. Why was he getting mad at her, anyway? It's pointless because first and foremost, it's not her fault and besides the damage has been done. All they can do is to just deal with it.

"Nothing. I'm sorry, I was out of line..."

Her smile was wry as she regarded him carefully. "Well, you've been doing that a lot lately," she murmured, casting her eyes to the view outside the windows.

Akashi blinked, understanding her statement perfectly. He had kissed her and acted like he owns her, and now this... What did Aomine call it? A jerk? He doesn't like the sound of it, but well, he's acting like one, and to Kimiko of all people.

 _Way to go, Seijuurou._

"Akumi," he called out, but she refused to face him, her hands tightening into fists in her lap, as if fighting the urge to crack her knuckles. It was then that it was finally revealed to him, the wariness in her posture, as if she was bracing herself for something. As he watched her silent figure for a few minutes, he realized that she had been thinking about what happened that Wednesday night in her apartment, and haven't been able to keep it off her mind all this time. The time at the manor had been a good distraction for the two of them, and at the same time, it made them re-evaluate their relationship to one another, because seriously, this had been going on for too long - surely, one of them is sure to give in.

"Never mind what I said, Seijuurou," was all Akumi said, and she retreated into her world

An uncomfortable silence descended upon the two. Kimiko kept scrolling through her iPod's playlist, while Akashi unconsciously glared daggers at the seat in front of them. Kimiko was itching to ask Akashi about the incident in her apartment - yes, it was reduced to The Incident because she cannot say the k-word without blushing, even in the confines of her mind - but the timing and the atmosphere isn't right for that kind of discussion, and she wouldn't run the risk of distracting Akashi's mind from the tournament, so she held her tongue and prayed that Saturday will arrive sooner so that they can take it off of their minds.

That is, if Akashi is even thinking of it at all.

 _I don't think so,_ Kimiko thinks, although she didn't dare look up at the redhead. _He's been acting normally since he picked me up from the station and he didn't mention anything remotely related to it all that time that we were together in the manor..._

Akashi, on the other hand, was going over his schedule for the week, thinking of the perfect date to have that talk with Kimiko - the one that they'd postponed for too long now because it seemed that none of them was willing to be the one to initiate the talk.

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Behind Kimiko and Akashi's seats, Mibuchi was whispering to an annoyed Mayuzumi who was trying his best to ignore him.

"Ne, Mayu-chan, do you really believe that Sei-chan and Aku-chan are just friends?"

From behind his light novel, Mayuzumi snorted. Based on every light novel he'd read so far, the level of comfort displayed by the two was certainly not on the level of mere friends. However, it looks like he was wrong as Akashi and Kimiko had clarified earlier the extent of their relationship (despite the girl's earlier joke about the two being married, which was more believable than their original claim), but then again, if Mayuzumi were to use one of the 'other' Akashi's favorite lines, since Akashi had said so, then it must be true. Therefore, Akashi and Kimiko are just friends. Period.

Which is exactly what he told Mibuchi.

"Akashi said so."

"And you believed him?" Mibuchi has this incredulous look on his face and Mayuzumi had to keep himself from hitting the nosy shooting guard in the head with his book.

"Yes."

Mayuzumi was hoping that his short answers will discourage Mibuchi from asking any more questions, but the topic seemed to be so interesting for Mibuchi to let go of it that easily. That or he just wants to annoy Mayuzumi.

"But why?"

"Because."

"Mayu-chan, that's not a proper answer!"

The phantom gave the whining Mibuchi a sidelong glance. "Because your question is not a proper one, either."

"What's wrong with my question?" Mibuchi sounded slightly offended.

 _I give up._ With a sigh, Mayuzumi closed his book shut and turned to his seatmate.

"Mibuchi, if Akashi tells you that he and his former coach are just friends, it's better to believe them than letting your imagination run wild." When Mibuchi looked like he was about to say something in defense, Mayuzumi glared at him and gestured with the book in his hand. "And if you don't let me read my book in peace, I'll give you a bump on the head."

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 ****Tokyo, Japan****

 **東京、日本**

"How far is it to Osaka again?"

"Kagami-kun, you asked that same question a few seconds ago. Are you really that impatient?"

"But—" the tall power forward whined childishly. "I'm bored!"

Kuroko did not even look up from the book that he was reading as he said to his seat mate,"Then go to sleep."

"But I don't want to!"

The pale boy sighed heavily, "I'm going to sit beside Kise-kun. Kagami-kun is very noisy. I can't read."

"O-oi, Kuroko—!" Kagami watched as the phantom just upped and left him — his partner and teammate — behind, going down the aisle to sit beside Kise, who was all by himself in the back.

"Kise-kun, do you mind if I sit here?"

"Eh?" Amber eyes blinked at him in confusion. "Kurokocchi? Aren't you supposed to be with Kagamicchi?"

"He's too excited to get to Osaka," Kuroko replied, still standing in front of Kise. "Can I sit here instead?"

"O-of course!" Kise stood up and removed his bag from the vacant seat beside his and placed it in the overhead compartment. Kuroko thanked him as they both sat down, and for a long moment, there was only silence between the two of them as Kuroko resumed reading while Kise just stared blankly at the scenery outside the train windows.

Finally, Kuroko spoke. "Kise-kun, are you alright?"

 _"Are you alright?" a girl with chartreuse hair approached him and held out her hand for him to take after he got defeated by Haizaki._

Kise frowned. "Nope," he mumbled sorrowfully. He decided to be honest and to not pretend that everything was okay with his world when obviously, it's not, and besides, this is Kuroko he was talking to, one of the few people who can see past his fake smiles, like Kimiko, Kasamatsu, and —

His ex-captain in Teikou, the one and only Akashi Seijuurou.

It's not that he hates the redhead — he just envied him for having something that he wished was his instead. Even though he swore that he will never fall for the chartreusette, that his relationship with her will not go beyond the platonic level, seeing her again just reawakened those feelings he had for her when he first bumped into her in the corridors of Teikou Middle School.

"Ne, Kurokocchi,is there really no hope for me?"

"Eh?" Kuroko was confused.

"For Akumicchi to like me?"

 _Ah, so I was right,_ Kuroko said to himself. Looks like not only Akashi was coming — or had come — to terms with their feelings for a certain chartreusette.

 _Why does everything have to be so complicated?_

"Kise-kun, Kimiko-san likes you —"

"—but she likes Akashicchi more than me," Kise continued and buried his face in his hands with a groan of frustration. He then looked at his friend with pleading eyes. "I already know that, Kurokocchi, but I don't know how to stop feeling this way! I tried — while we were in Teikou, I tried not to like her so much — but then she left and when I saw her again, I, I—"

A hand patted his shoulder comfortingly. Kuroko's eyes was full of understanding. Kise had fallen way too deep to be able to accept that Kimiko can only be their friend and nothing more. Kimiko was and is always been family to them — she took care of them, watched and worried over them and understood all of their eccentricities and made them feel like family. And they loved her back, as well.

Until everything fell apart.

Kuroko smiled — a sad smile. "I know you did, Kise-kun, but sometimes we have to learn that some things are not really meant for us."

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	29. 第29章

**Author's Note:** Watch out for that additional scene at the end!

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **29** **章**

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— **日** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **7** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Wakayama, Japan ****

 **和歌山** **、** **日本**

"Okamura-san, are you familiar with this place?"

Yosen's captain turned to Himuro. "Huh?"

Beside Okamura, Liu sighed. "Side-gori, thou soundeth stupid."

"WHAT DID YOU CALL MEEEE?!"

At the pair's loud bickering, Himuro sweatdropped and looked around them. That morning, Yosen's main players had asked permission from their coach to let them go out and walk around Wakayama. After all, it was their first time in Wakayama — well, most of them, anyway.

Fukui growled at their captain and their Chinese teammate. "Oi, people are staring at us."

"Probably wondering what a gorilla is doing wandering around in the streets in broad daylight," Liu added nonchalantly as Okamura howled.

"WHY DOES MY TEAM HATES MEEEEEEE?!"

"You're too noisy~" Murasakibara complained, Pocky stick in his mouth as he covered both of his ears with his hands. Poor Okamura shut his mouth and moped to the side.

"You didn't answer Himuro's question," Fukui reminded their captain, and this seemed to pull Okamura from his momentary depression.

"Ah, what was it, Himuro?" Yosen's captain asked the mirage shooter, who politely repeated his question to Okamura.

"Well, a little... Used to spend my summers here back in middle school," Okamura answered after giving it some thought. "Why do you ask, though?"

Himuro scratched his cheek with a finger. "Do you know a good restaurant around here?"

"You're hungry, Muro-chin?" Murasakibara asked his partner innocently. "Here, you can have some Pocky~", he said, offering the box of snacks to Himuro, who chuckled a little as he took some of the offered snack.

"Not exactly, Atsushi, but thanks anyway," he said, munching on the stick slowly. He returned his gaze back to Okamura. "An Italian restaurant, preferably?"

"...Italian..?" Okamura looked a bit puzzled. "They serve lots of pastas there, right?"

"Yes — pastas are their specialty, it seems," Himuro confirmed.

"Hmmm..." Okamura gazed upwards as he searched his memories. "I know one around here... A bit pricey, though..."

"It's okay," Himuro said with his usual smiles.

"What's a gorilla doing in such a high-class restaurant, I wonder?" Liu cannot help but wonder out loud.

His comment, of course,enraged Okamura.

"SHUT UP, LIU!"

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"Here we are!" Okamura said. Yosen's regulars were standing in front of a restaurant with a vintage wooden sign in front, engraved with unfamiliar words that they couldn't pronounce without tripping over their tongues. Dressed as they are at the moment, the Yosen team looks incredibly out of place.

"Why are you looking for a restaurant, though?" Fukui can't help but ask. "Do you have a date?"

 _A date?_ Well, that certainly caught Murasakibara's attention. _Muro-chin has a date?_

 _Could it be—?_

"Muro-chin—"

Himuro's lone visible eye narrowed as he turned sharply to Murasakibara. "Atsushi," he said with a warning tone in his voice, and the double ace of Yosen had a brief staring contest, surprising the rest of their teammates. After all, it was rare for the two to have such disagreements. During that tense moment, the two seemed to have reached a silent agreement, which ended in a grumpy Murasakibara and a slightly annoyed Himuro.

As Fukui watched Himuro enter the restaurant and talk to a staff of the restaurant — probably to make a reservation — he cannot help but think just what on earth was that all about.

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 **** Osaka, Japan ****

 **大坂、日本**

A few minutes into their train ride, Kise's manager phoned to say that the magazine was already released publicly and that the rest of the photos featuring the blonde's photo shoot with the chartreusette were already uploaded in the magazine's website and was already garnering a lot of views and positive critics, as well as a huge interest in the unknown girl who was modeling alongside him. Kise glanced briefly at Kuroko who was reading quietly beside him and the smaller boy merely gave him a consenting nod as Kise received the call.

" **A brilliant job, you two!"** his manager said with unusual excitement. **"I never imagined that she'd make such an impact to the public! She made a great impression on everybody — everyone's curious about her. Clients have been calling us, asking about her identity... And Kise, can you believe it? Even the Akashi Corporation was asking if she was from our agency!"**

Kise was not really surprised to hear all those things — except for the last part. Since their first meeting, Kise had already thought that Kimiko would make a great model because the girl was naturally beautiful and elegant. It was a wonder why the girl chose to devote herself to sports — and basketball at that. And honestly speaking, without bias, Kimiko was better than all the other models he had worked with, but maybe that's because she's not distracted by him.

However, his manager's last statement bothered him somehow. Someone's not going to be pleased with that fact.

 **"Kise, are you there?"**

"H-hai!" Kise bit his lip. He'd been spacing out. "Th-that's good to hear, then, Amano-san!" he managed to say in a fake cheery voice, which his manager, who was usually quick to see through him, failed to notice due to his excitement over the whole thing.

Kuroko did, though, and a worried frown was etched on the phantom's usually blank face.

 **"Anyway, is she with you right now?"**

"Uhm, no."

Amano sighed. **"Can I get her contact information? I'm sure that once word gets out that she's unafilliated to an agency, they will all go all out to get her! I just want to make sure that if she ever considered to continue doing this, then it will be our agency that she will choose."**

Kise hesitated at first, but there's no harm to it, right? If Kimiko doesn't want to, then she can always refuse, right?

"I'll send them to you later, Amano-san."

 **"Good. You think you can talk to her, make her reconsider? Oh, and do warn her about the paparazzis — you know how they are. You know how they are — they're like sharks that smelled fresh blood — they'll swarm over her in no time. Might as well give her a heads up."**

 _Oh shit,_ Kise thought in horror. The paparazzi — how could he forget about them?

"Hai, Amano-san, I'll do that."

So maybe it's best that she was with Akashi — he'll keep her safe from those rabid camera-toting monsters, just like he did with all her unwanted suitors back in Teikou.

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 **ー** **2nd Year, Teikou Middle School** **ー**

 _It was supposed to be a normal afternoon training session for Teikou's basketball club, when an unwanted guest appeared in front of the gym's double doors in the form of Teikou's football team captain, Hijirikawa Sou — a brown-haired boy with hazelnut eyes and sun-kissed skin — asking for a certain golden-eyed girl, saying that he has something to give her._

 _"Oi, Kimiko, someone's looking for you!" Aomine's voice echoed all over the first-string gym. It was unneeded as Aomine knows perfectly that the said girl was not present in the gym at the moment. The words, though, seemed to cast a spell on everyone present on court as they all paused in their actions and turned toward the direction of their captains — former and present — waiting for them to make their move._

 _"Who is it, Aomine?" Akashi and Nijimura asked in unison, even as they were already making their way to the door._

 _"Dunno," was all Aomine replied before moving to the side to watch as well. Kise sidled over to him and asked in a hushed voice. The blond had just recently joined them and as such was not yet familiar with the way things work in the first-string._

 _"What's happening?" he asked his fellow sophomore._

 _The tanned boy only grinned mischievously. "Watch."_

 _"And you are?" Akashi asked their 'visitor', who squirmed in unease at the redhead's gaze despite dwarfing Akashi by a good seven inches. It doesn't help that Nijimura, who has quite a reputation in Teikou as well, was standing beside Akashi, an arm on his hip as he spun a basketball on his fingertip, a menacing glare focused on him._

 _"I am looking for—"_

 _"We heard you the first time. But WHO are YOU?" Nijimura interrupted smoothly that made the corners of Akashi's lips to curve upwards._

 _"I'm—" Hijirikawa tried again, but Akashi cut him off._

 _"State your business with our coach." Akashi crossed his arms in front of his chest and raised an eyebrow. "Or are you, perhaps, lost? As you can see, this is the basketball club."_

 _"But—"_

 _"The football field is over there," Nijimura gestured with his chin somewhere behind the lost-looking Hijirikawa, who cannot even speak more than three words due to the pair's interrupting him as soon as he opens his mouth._

 _"Kise can show you the way, if you like," Akashi offered, knowing that Kise was a far better football player than Teikou's current captain, had the blond chose to pursue that certain sport._

 _Sure enough, Hijirikawa paled at the mention of the blond's name. He shook his head to decline the offer._

 _"You sure?" Nijimura asked, obviously unconvinced with his answer. "You look like you could use some help." Just then, Akashi's sharp hearing caught Momoi's voice as she greeted the members behind them. He gave a look to Nijimura, who sighed for dramatic effect. "Oh well, come on, then. I'll take you there."_

 _Without further ado, he grabbed hold of Hijirikawa's arm and led him out and away of the gym, just as Kimiko appeared behind Akashi._

 _"Hm? What are you doing here, Seijuurou? Where's Shuuzo, by the way? And," she went and picked something by the door. Akashi flinched — the tiniest bit. "What's a box of chocolates and a wilted rose doing here?" She turned them over in her hand, reading the label on the box. "...Strawberry cream-filled chocolates...?" Kimiko looked at Akashi's pokerface. "Sounds gross to me... Anyway, come on, I have something to discuss with you and the rest of the team. Let's go."_

 _The redhead let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Alright. Nijimura-san shall be returning in a little while."_

 _"Oh? Where did he go?" Kimiko asked,eyes on her clipboard as they walked to the center of the court where the regulars were waiting for them. Red eyes lit up in satisfaction when she handed the box of sweets to Murasakibara along with the pathetic excuse of a flower, which the purple-haired giant disposed in the nearby trash can._

 _Akashi shrugged carelessly. "He just took care of something. Now, what was it that we are about to discuss?"_

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 **"In any case, bringing her to the studio was a good thing, Kise. Though I wonder why you didn't do so earlier... How did you know her, by the way?"**

"...She's a friend from middle school..."

 **"You've known her for years?! And you just decided to take her to the agency last week...Why?!"**

At his manager's dramatic outburst, Kise cannot help but wince at the volume of his voice.

"Amano-san, Akumicchi is not really interested in being a model..." he whined, having answered the same question for the nth time that week. It's not like he asked the girl for her opinion on that matter — he just knew for a fact. Kimiko is a real person and she will never be like him, doing things just for show, being what other people want him to be. Kimiko is real.

She'll never be a puppet or a doll for someone else.

His manager grumbled something incoherent, and finally hung up after giving Kise a few reminders. He mentioned something about the possibility of having an interview with Kimiko for an online blog, and that Kise should tell the girl about it. Kise is sure that Kimiko won't mind being in the spotlight for once, but Kise knows someone who'd rather keep the girl to himself. He just hoped that Akashi wouldn't mind that much.

 _I hope,_ he thought as he composed his message to Kimiko.

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 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京、日本**

Sunday morning found the three former Teiko students and one Takao Kazunari standing in front of a bookstore, eyes fixed on the cover of a popular magazine where a blond and a chartreusette couple was featured in a rather intimate pose.

"Akashi's going to throw a hissy fit over this one," Aomine sighed as he scratched the back of his head lazily. He was on his way to buy his weekly issue of Horikita Mai's magazine when he bumped into Momoi who in turn bumped into the Shutoku pair who were out hunting for Midorimas's lucky item of the day, which happened to be a book about trees or vegetables, only to stumble into the local bookstore and be greeted by a picture of Kise and Kimiko whose faces were mere inches apart from each other.

Which was a bad thing.

A _really, really, really_ bad thing.

"Akashi is not a toddler to throw a tantrum," Midorima grumbled, eyes glued on the glossy magazine cover. He can already feel the beginning of a massive headache. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, as he tend to do when he's annoyed with something or someone, and sighed.

Momoi can only shake her head. "Well, Aku-chan did say that she wanted to try modeling, right? I'm sure Akashi-kun will understand..."

Off to the side, Takao can only look at each of them in confusion, obviously not getting why the captain of Rakuzan would be enraged if he saw this. It was a nice picture, and Kise is handsome as Kimiko was absolutely gorgeous in that shot so why would anyone be getting angry?

Unable to keep silent any longer, the hawk-eyed boy finally blurted out, "You guys make it sound like an apocalypse is coming."

To his utter surprise, all three turned to him with weary faces and spoke in perfect sync - hell, even the way they shook their heads! - "If only you knew..." before resuming their conversation.

Takao sweatdropped. He looked at the magazine cover once more. _The hell was that all about?!_

"Not to mention that HImuro Tatsuya..." Midorima was grumbling, and Momoi and Aomine looked at him with puzzled eyes.

"What about that guy?" Aomine asked, although he seemed to have a good guess at what Midorima is thinking about. He's just playing safe and asking for a confirmation.

 _Guess Aomine's not that stupid when it comes to this things._

Momoi tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Indeed. Mukkun did call me a few days ago. He seemed to be bothered with his teammate's actions lately."

"Did Murasakibara elaborate?"

"Mukkun told me that Himuro-kun was asking him things about Aku-chan..."

"And what did Murasakibara do about it?" Oddly enough, it was Aomine who asked. "He better not answered all that guy's questions about Akumi," he almost growled.

"That Yosen guy looks decent enough," Takao quipped.

At this, Momoi smiled mischievously. "Mukkun is still on our side..." And then to Takao, she said, "I know, Takao-kun, but we're hoping that Aku-chan will end up with someone else."

"Who?"

"Ah, but that's a secret," she said with a giggle and Takao's shoulders slumped.

Midorima sighed heavily, wondering how they would react if they knew of Akashi kissing the chartreusette out of the blue. However, watching Momoi squeal at her imaginations, maybe it's better that they don't.

For now, at least. It was a wise decision on Kise's part not to include the pink-haired manager, not that he had something against Momoi, mind you.

He pushed his glasses upwards again. It's better this way. He just hoped that by the time Kimiko returns, she and Akashi would have the matter resolved so that they can go on with their lives peacefully.

But as Takao's whining coupled with Momoi and Aomine"s bickering reached his ears, Midorima can only huff. _Peacefully, you say._

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Meanwhile, inside his glass-walled office at the topmost floor of his company's building, Akashi Masaomi sat behind his desk, eyes on the magazine spread open before him. Under it were several photos printed from a fashion photographer's blog, as well as several other files that he was yet to read.

He had only gone through a few pages of the magazine when his secretary informed him that a 'Shirikawa-san' was waiting for him outside.

"Let him in."

A man dressed in black suit entered the room. He closed the door behind him and paused for a moment to bow before the Akashi head, who acknowledged him with a nod and motioned for him to come closer.

Shirikawa was an ordinary-looking person, the one you bump into the streets and not remember his face afterwards, no matter how hard you try. His hair and eyes were black, with average built and pale skin. He couldn't be older than thirty-five, but with his generic features, one cannot be so sure.

Which makes him a perfect intelligence gatherer.

"Akashi-sama," he said, placing the several folders he was carrying on Masaomi's desk. "These are all the files containing all important information on Kimiko Akumi, sir."

"Give me a summary," Masaomi said as he reached for the topmost folder on the pile.

"Kimiko Akumi, sixteen years old, born on the thirteenth of August. She stands at 161 cm and weighs 50 kilograms. She lives alone in an apartment here in Tokyo. Her mother was stated to have died giving birth to her as for her father, sources point out that he is in France but for some reason, his name was never mentioned. However, I have some documents that says that she is related to the family that owns the _blanc et noir_ fashion line, although I am still looking for confirmation on that."

Masaomi paused at that. _Blanc et Noir_ is a famous French Fashion House, one that he's been planning to have a partnership with. However, he was not familiar with the family that owns it - the De Saint-Pierres, who was an old family just like the Akashi, known for their fashion line and wine. What are the chances that this girl is actually related to them?

It seems far-fetched but Masaomi had seen too much to immediately dismiss the possibility. He'll wait until the results of Shirikawa's research prove or disprove it.

"Kimiko-san is currently finishing her first year in her school in France online. She's still undecided where to enroll this coming school year. As of the moment, she's headed to Wakayama with the young master and his team."

At this bit of information, one of Masaomi's brows rose slightly. _With Seijuurou?_

If he is surprised to know that the mystery model is acquainted with his son, Masaomi did not show it, but inwardly he was already thinking why Seijuurou did not said anything about it during the meeting. Not to say that he was slightly irked that he did not in the slightest suspected that his son was connected to this girl.

"From the manor's CCTV footage, it was shown that the young master brought her to the house last Saturday morning. He visited the pavilion and Yukimaru with her, and they slept together in young master's bedroom."

Shirikawa narrated all the facts the way one might recite the multiplication table. He didn't pause to take a breath, but rather went on and on like a tape recording. Masaomi half-listened to him as he read the girl's legal records. He seem rather unaffected that his son had brought a girl to their house without his knowledge, but that's only because he did not allow them to show it on his face.

"It says here that this is the second time that Seijuurou had brought that girl over," Masaomi mused aloud. _Maybe I should keep a closer watch on Seijuurou this days. All of this sneaking in and out of the manor with a girl behind my back... Don't tell me that this is your act of rebellion, Seijuurou. I was expecting something else from you._ "Tell me about their relationship."

"The young master is close friends with her since their first year in Teiko. Kimiko was her classmate and seat mate for three years, and they are in the same club as well."

 _Friends?_ "Seijuurou was in the basketball club."

"Kimiko joined the club as a training manager, and became the first-string coach in her second year when the head coach fell ill and had to take a leave. She was a significant figure in Teikou's basketball club, as much as the Kiseki no Sedai, whom the young master is also a part of. Shirogane Kozo talks highly of her."

A nod from Masaomi. "Go on."

"An incident during their last year in middle school caused a rift in their relationship. Kimiko had a disagreement with the young master regarding one of their players. The young master got angry and laid a hand on the girl. She left for France two days later. She cut off all her connections here in Japan during that time. She returned last month, however, and seemed to be rekindling her relationship with her middle school friends. Just last week, the young master attended a birthday party held in her apartment, and he visited her also after the board meeting where the magazine article was one of the things on the agenda."

 _Now, isn't that interesting..._ "How long will they be staying in Wakayama?"

"The young master will return from the Nationals tournament next Sunday, Akashi-sama."

There was a long period of silence as Masaomi flipped through the files, giving them a brief glance. All the details were in there, down to her school records and a rough estimate of her weekly schedule. He glanced for a moment to the silent Shirikawa and finally dismissed him from his office. When he was gone, he picked up the phone and called his secretary, whose own office was just outside his door.

"Clear my schedule this coming Thursday and Friday," Masaomi finally said, eyes straying over the smirking face of Kimiko Akumi. An ominous gleam came into his sharp ruby eyes. "I'm going to Wakayama for Seijuurou's championship match."

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 ****Paris, France****

 **パリ、フランス**

Jacques De Saint-Pierre stared at the pictures of his daughter posted at an online website of a Japanese fashion magazine. Although he cannot read the text, he was able to navigate through the page as he viewed photo after photo of a certain chartreusette posing for the camera along with a handsome blond teen. Looking at the girl that had inherited his pigmentation and overlaying them with the features of her late mother made him feel happy and sad at the same time.

"Yuki," he whispered sadly as he gazed at Kimiko's golden eyes. "If you can only see how much our daughter has grown..."

A knock at the door disturbed his thoughts.

"Father...?"

"Vincent," he said, beckoning his first-born to come to him. With pale-blond hair that almost looks white and a pair of bright sapphire eyes, Vincent looks like an elven prince. Closing the door of the study behind him, he walked to where his father was sitting behind his oak desk and cast a curious gaze at the tablet that was in his father's hands.

"You called for me, Father?" he asked.

Jacques angled the tablet in his hands so that Vincent can take a look at what was displayed on the screen. He saw his son's eyes widen in surprise upon seeing his half-sister in it.

"What's Akumi doing in there?" Vincent asked.

"That's what I would like to know as well," Jacques sighed. He handed the device to his son, who accepted it and hurriedly browsed through the pictures.

Vincent allowed a smile to grace his thin lips. "Akumi looks really magnificent in all of these."

"She does," Jacques replied with a smile of his own, grateful that Vincent was accepting of his half-sibling, even though Kimiko was a product of Jacques' betrayal to Vincent's mother.

"Wouldn't it be dangerous if Grandfather sees this?"

At his son's worried tone, Jacques shook his head. "I don't know if it would be dangerous or not. He did express disdain towards her, however, he cannot deny that Akumi has the blood of a De Saint-Pierre in her veins. It depends whether or not Akumi will accept her bloodline or not - whether or not she'll agree to leave her Japanese name and accept her name as Veronique De Saint-Pierre." He looked at Vincent's frowning eyes and said, "And that's what I would like you to find out."

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	30. 第30章

**Author's Note:**

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **30** **章**

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— **日** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **7** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Osaka, Japan ****

 **大坂** **、** **日本**

Shin-Osaka station was as bustling as Akashi remembered the last time he had been there. Being a very busy station, there was never a shortage of passengers. As they went to get their tickets for Wakayama, he kept watch over the chartreusette beside him who was very excited to get to their destination. Her excitement was enough to make her forget (or temporarily disregard) their little spat at the train earlier. Apparently, the girl had never been to Wakayama, while Akashi had several times due to their existing business holdings in the prefecture.

Wakayama is a very beautiful place, and Kimiko will be having a field day with her camera the moment she sees all the breathtaking sceneries that the place has to offer. It's a shame that Akashi won't be able to take her to see everything. He will be too busy with the tournament as well as the heir duties that his father had given him. Since he will be spending a week in Wakayama, Akashi Masaomi had decided that the heir will visit their properties and do the customary check-ups to ensure that everything is run according to the Akashi standards - meaning, it must be perfect.

After procuring their tickets, they headed for the platform for the Wakayama-bound train. He noticed that Kimiko was walking while doing something on her phone, so he held her lightly by the elbow, guiding her so that she will not trip or crash into someone. The girl only flashed her a quick smile and resumed her activity.

"Tetsuya says they've just arrived," Kimiko announced moments later, showing the message to Akashi who merely nodded.

"...Tetsuya... You mean Kuroko Tetsuya of Seirin?" Mibuchi inquired from behind.

"Yep! And they've got Kaijou with them!" Kimiko replied enthusiastically. "Quite a gathering we have here, eh?" she added with a laugh.

"We're going with them?" Hayama asked, having mixed feelings about the arrangement. Not that he doesn't like the other guys, rather he was unsure if the other two teams will be alright with it.

"Tetsuya had mentioned your team to Kaijou's coach, and he had suggested that we might as well travel with them since we don't have an adult with us. It seems that he had taken it under his responsibility to look after Seirin as well - not that he did not trust Riko to handle her team. It's more of a... favor from Riko's father. Kagetora Aida and Genta Takeuchi are acquainted with each other, and being the overly protective father that he is, Aida-san had asked Genta-san to keep an eye on his daughter."

Akashi suppressed his smirk as his four teammates gaped at Kimiko's explanation. They were clearly wondering why she bothered to know all that, when her first sentence was explanation enough.

 _Akumi does things thoroughly. She does not stop until she had learned every thing about the matter._

"So I guess we have to wait for them so that we will board the same train and make things easier for Genta-san. After all, he will be taking care of twenty-one boys plus me, Alex, and Riko. I'm sure Seijuurou doesn't need the help since you are all mature and well-behaved, right? I can't say for sure about Seirin - Kagami is quite the loudmouth, and there's Koganei Shinji and Izuki Shun who loves making puns... As for Kaijou," here, Kimiko sighed, "Ryouta is sure to be as noisy and clingy as usual, Hayakawa Mitsuhiro will likely be speaking incoherently, Moriyama Yoshitaka might start spouting pick-up lines while Yukio-senpai will be sure to yell loudly at them while kicking their butts."

"You seem to know them personally, Kimiko," Mayuzumi pointed out after a while. Akashi knows that she had gone and visited the three Tokyo-based teams of Seirin, Touou and Shutoku frequently, but he didn't know that she had gone to visit Kanagawa. He was aware that she had gone to Yosen once to talk to Murasakibara, but Kanagawa? Sure, it was just right outside of Tokyo, and from the things that she'd told him, she was acquainted with Kaijou's captain, but she never mentioned about visiting Kaijou personally.

 _Why am I getting bothered about it in the first place?_ Akashi thought. _She can visit any place she want as long as she is not putting herself in danger._

"I've met Seirin a couple times before, so I got to know their players a bit, as for Kaijou, I was able to meet their captain personally since Ryouta somehow always manages to drag the poor fellow wherever he goes. The other members, I only know as much as Ryouta told me."

Mayuzumi smiled grimly. _I think 'a bit' is an understatement. I bet you already know everything there is to know about them - from their names down to their blood type, perhaps even the hour that they were born._ He glanced at their captain who had been silently listening in amusement. _These Teikou graduates are all freaky geniuses or prodigies..._

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"Finally!" Kagami said as they stepped out of the train. He stretched his arms above his head and gave a yawn, only to receive a whack on the back of his head. "ITAI!"

"Bakagami!" Riko yelled at him, and Kagami turned around to see his glowering coach holding a huge paper fan pointing threateningly at him. He paled and took a step backwards.

"S-sorry, Coach!" he said immediately, hoping to appease the brunette's anger. After sitting for that long, Kagami is certain that his body is in no condition to be on the receiving end of Riko's wrestling moves.

Thankfully, Riko settled for a death glare and left him alone, falling instep with their captain, Hyuga Junpei.

 _Whew, that was close,_ Kagami thought in relief.

"What did you do to make Coach glare at you like that?"

Kagami jumped. "AAAAAAAH! DAMN IT, KUROKO! HAVEN'T I TOLD YOU A MILLION TIMES NOT TO SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT!"

The words were barely out of his mouth when he received another whack on the head that was at least thrice as hard as the first one.

"AND HAVEN'T I TOLD YOU TO STOP BEING SO NOISY, BAKAGAMI!" Riko screamed at him before proceeding to give him a beating on the head with her paper fan. She suddenly thrusted a piece of paper to his face. "Since you seem to be so energetic, go and get our tickets!"

"B-But I don't -"

"I'll go with you, Kagami-kun," Kuroko offered, feeling slightly guilty since it was because of him that Kagami yelled out in surprise. A part of him was slightly annoyed that his light is still not used to his presence. To be fair, Aomine was like that in Teiko, but having people screaming in surprise every time he speaks is quite irritating at times. Oh well, not everyone can be like Akashi or Kimiko.

"Sheesh, Coach is harsher than usual today..." Kagami complained to Kuroko and Kise as they went to get their respective team's tickets. He rubbed the back of his head. "What's up with her?"

Kuroko thought about it for a moment. "Riko-san is probably nervous about tomorrow. She has a huge responsibility, after all, not to mention the expectations that was placed on the team after we won the Winter Cup."

"If you put it that way... But she doesn't have to hit my head that hard!"

Kise chuckled a little, less depressed than he was hours ago. "Kasamatsu-senpai is like that, too. He gets more violent just before the start of the matches."

"Kasamatsu-san is a good leader," Kuroko said with a hint of admiration.

"Your captain is amazing, too, Kurokocchi."

"Both of them are pretty violent, too." Kagami shivered as he remembered Hyuga in clutch mode. It's terrifying.

Kise laughed in agreement, while Kuroko's lips curved a little.

They continued their conversation about their captains, talking about their similarities and differences and talking about captains in general and debating whether it was a common trait among them to be terrifying or something like that. Kuroko then received a message from Furihata informing them to meet them just outside the platform for the Wakayama-bound train.

As the three arrived at the agreed meeting place, Kuroko immediately scanned their surroundings, searching for a flash of crimson or chartreuse. He noticed several groups of tall boys that looks like basketball players from other wondered what prefectures they are representing. None of them are wearing anything that shows their affiliation, so Kuroko tried to remember their faces and to look for them tomorrow during the opening ceremonies.

His phone buzzed again.

 **[From: Kimiko Akumi]**

 _ **Left, fourth pillar from the one Alex was leaning on.**_

He looked up and turned his head to the specified direction and instantly saw the smiling face of Kimiko, with a passive Akashi beside her. He watched as she said something to the redhead, who nodded before she ran up to where Kuroko was, her chartreuse hair swaying behind her as she tackled him into a hug in Momoi-fashion but with considerably less force.

"Tetsuya!" she said upon letting go, and turned to his companions. "Taiga, Ryouta, nice to see you again."

Her smile was too sweet and bright and mischievous and oh-so-contagious that Kise cannot help but smile back at her. There's no way he can remain gloomy when she was looking like that.

No one can blame him for falling in love with her.

And no one can blame her if she already loves someone.

Someone that is not him.

So Kise smiled, and greeted her back. "Akumicchi!"

The girl's smile widened as she gestured to where Kise's coach was standing. "Mind introducing me to your coach?"

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Akashi stood before Genta Takeuchi and bowed politely. "We are under your care, Genta-san."

Genta returned the bow in reflex, taken by surprise at the boy's formality. "No need to be formal, Akashi. Shirogane has pretty asked me the same thing earlier this morning."

"Ne, Akashicchi, what is your coach's relation to our coach in Teikou?" Kise asked. He never really paid attention to such things but when he heard the familiar surname, he just had to ask.

"Shirogane Eiji was Shirogane Kozo's younger brother," Akashi replied.

"Being a basketball coach seems to run in their family," Kimiko added. "To be more specific, their family is closely tied to the sport. They have a long history as basketball players and coaches."

"The two of them did both." Akashi looked at Kaijou's coach. "Our coach was once a player for the national team along with Genta-san."

As always, the two were perfectly in sync with one another. Finishing each other's sentences was just one of their habits; everyone from Teikou knows that. It used to be amusing and amazing for Kise before, when they were still innocent young children, but knowing that Kimiko and Akashi are harboring romantic feelings for each other, watching them interact like the perfect couple they are sent a dull ache in Kise's chest.

Curiosity really did kill the cat. Kise wondered what compelled him to ask that question. What good will it do him to know that their coach in Teikou and Rakuzan's coach are brothers?

Jealousy - this is the name of the ugly feeling clawing at him from the inside. Kise felt disgusted with himself. Barely more than a month passed after regaining their broken bonds with his former teammates, barely more than a month passed after a certain shadow had finally succeeded in bringing the true Akashi back, and he'll be damned if he would let his feelings for their former coach/training manager to ruin everything.

The question is, what is he going to do about them?

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Akashi watched her silently as he stood in one corner, separate from the main group composed of the players from Seirin, Kaijou, and Rakuzan. He'd watched as she charmed Kaijou's coach with her knowledge on the sport and regaled him and everyone who were listening about her reign in Teikou. He'd watched as she squealed and laughed when an American woman who speaks fluent Japanese approached her with a teasing pout, as Kimiko ran way from her to hide behind a flustered Kasamatsu before Kagami restrained the chartreusette's pursuer with an exasperated sigh. He'd watched as she introduced the Rakuzan players to the Kaijou and Seirin guys, making them feel at ease with one another enough so that Mayuzumi was now chatting with Nakamura about his light novel, that Nebuya was now in a heated discussion about rebounds with the equally loud Hayakawa, that Hayama was now creating puns with Izuki and Koganei, and that Mibuchi was now harassing Hyuga and Kasamatsu. He'd watched as she laughed and blushed when Kise called her over and showed her something on his phone, no doubt it was about their photo shoot, most probably the critics. He'd been watching her silently in contentment all this time, satisfied to see her happy and mischievous self flitting in and out of the group like a butterfly among flowers, and Akashi would have been content to remain this way until the train arrived, if not for Kaijou's shooting guard.

Kimiko was busy taking stolen pictures of everyone, including the red-head, and she was actually in the process of taking Akashi's picture when Moriyama approached her. To the redhead's sudden irritation, the shooting guard took her hand and said, sounding very much like a lovesick fool.

"This meeting must be predestined by fate! Fate that we are unable to control! I feel that if I let go of your hand now, I will never be able to meet you again! This is a fateful encounter indeed! I will never let you go, my angel!"

For a full minute, it went quiet. And then, came a series of groans from his teammates, mainly from Kasamatsu and Kise, who had their hands over their faces in embarrassment at their teammate's actions, while some of the Seirin guys found the whole thing as absolutely hilarious and was trying their utmost best to stop roaring with laughter and managing to do so but just barely, while Alex and Riko was red in the face as they waited for Kimiko to say or do something, while Genta was staring at his player in disbelief and muttering said player's name in frustration.

To her credit, the chartreusette was not flustered in any way. In fact, she was yet to react to Moriyama's proclamation. Moriyama had been staring at her expectantly, and for some reason, perhaps she was absolutely clueless on how to deal with the entire situation, her eyes flickered to where the redhead was, and without meaning to, the shooting guard had followed her line of sight and found himself looking at Rakuzan's captain.

Moriyama was confused. Akashi looked murderous about something. Okay, Akashi was glaring at something.

But at what exactly?

He tried to follow Akashi's gaze and it landed on his own hand, the one that was holding Kimiko's hand.

Realization set in.

Faster than the eye can blink, Moriyama let go of her hand as if it burned him and leaped a good six feet away from the chartreusette.

Kimiko blinked at him once, twice.

And then, she laughed.

It was the sweetest thing everyone had ever heard.

"I thought Ryouta already told you not to say those lines again? You truly are the _Pitiful Handsome Guy..._ " the girl said afterwards, oblivious to the fuming redhead. Her grin turned playful, similar to the one she had when she dragged Kasamatsu around to cure him of his 'fear of girls'. She waved at Kise, who was trying his best not to groan out loud at his _senpai's_ actions, and beckoned him over.

"What is it, Akumicchi?" He looked at his teammate and he sighed. "Moriyama-senpai, have you forgotten already?"

"He used the 'fateful encounter' again," Kimiko replied. "Since the train is still not here, how about a short review on how to pick up girls properly?"

And so started Moriyama's course on Picking Up Girls 101: The Kimiko Akumi Approach. Kise assisted her, and a while later, Alex joined them, more as an audience until Kimiko pulled her and Riko for Moriyama to practice on them. Alex laughed, thoroughly amused at the idea and willingly volunteered, while Riko blushed and stuttered but gave in to the chartreusette's demands after a few seconds.

"Compliments are good, but you should not overdo them. Telling girls that they look beautiful or gorgeous is okay, no need to go on a detailed monologue on how their eyes look like stars or diamonds. It may have worked back in the medieval ages, but in our time, girls will only find you creepy or weird."

Moriyama nodded at the chartreusette's words, looking very much like a follower bowing to his _sensei_. Then, they had him practice his lines all over again until Kimiko was satisfied before she dismissed him. However, when she saw the shooting guard making his way to a girl, she hauled him back by the back of his shirt and told him to try his newly-acquired skills after the Nationals. That is, until he returned to Kanagawa.

"Who knows, you might get yourself a girlfriend _finally_."

"Oi, you better not be giving this idiot false hopes," Kasamatsu interjected, glaring at his teammate who had gotten him into a lot of trouble due to this particular habit of his.

"Yu-ki-o-sen-pai~" drawled Kimiko, "Don't be like that... Yoshitaka-senpai worked hard, you know. If I managed to help you, I'm sure can do the same for him. The two of you are like polar opposites after all. You're too afraid of girls while he likes them too much."

"Oi, I don't-" Kasamatsu started to protest but the lime-haired girl stopped him with a conspiratorial grin.

"Do you think I didn't notice you talking to Riko-san earlier~?"

And to that, Kaijou's captain had no answer except for an undignified sputter.

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"Kuroko, I need to talk to you about something." Akashi gave a pointed glance at Kagami, a silent way of telling that he intends to talk to Kuroko _alone._

"Of course, Akashi-kun. If you please, Kagami-kun," Kuroko turned to his partner.

Kagami heaved a sigh. "'Get lost', I get it, I get it." Having the gazes of the two shortest members of the _Kiseki no Sedai_ was very unnerving. Making his hasty exit in case Akashi goes berserk all of a sudden, Kagami found himself in the company of his mentor, who was more than happy to terrorize her favorite pupil all over again.

Sky blue eyes searched the depths of Akashi's crimson orbs. Kuroko began tentatively, "Akashi-kun?"

The redhead was frowning at him, and Kuroko finally realized just why his former captain had called him out. "Why did you do it, Kuroko?"

If he had been one to show his emotions openly, Kuroko would have sighed in relief. Akashi was still calling him by his last name. But Emperor or not, a pissed Akashi is one Kuroko would rather avoid at all costs.

"Why did you do _it_ , Akashi-kun?" he countered, and the redhead's nose twitched a little in irritation.

"I would appreciate it if you would answer my question, Kuroko," a warning note in his otherwise calm voice.

Kuroko tried another approach. "Akumi-san was distressed about it."

Akashi glanced at the smiling chartreusette who was now holding Mayuzumi's book and pointing at the pages. "Is she now?"

"If she wants to keep it hidden, no one can ever hope to see it unless she decides otherwise."

At that, Akashi gave a snort. "Fair point." He had to admit, if Kimiko doesn't want to inform anyone of her current emotions, then not even his Emperor Eye will be able to see through her.

"Have you thought about the repercussions that it will cause your relationship with her, Akashi-kun?"

"No."

Kuroko blinked. "Have you talked to her about this, then?"

 _Please, say yes._

"No."

 _What?!_ Alarm set in. "Akashi-kun, this is serious! How could you not-"

Akashi glared sharply at Kuroko, but the anger was directed to himself. "Do you think I don't know that, Kuroko?" He pursed his lips in annoyance before continuing, "Akumi is important to me, do you think I'll let her slip away from me again?"

"I know that, Akashi-kun, but does Akumi-san knows this?"

Akashi didn't answer

A memory came up to him.

 _They were in second year, Akashi already the captain while Kimiko had already taken post as the first -string coach of Teikou's prestigious basketball club. They were on their way home after the regular afternoon practice, and they were all gathered at the gates, waiting for Kimiko who was a bit late from a short consultation with Sanada about the upcoming Interhigh preliminaries._

 _Akashi closes the manual that he had been reading to tune out his friends' bickering about the coming midterms just as the chartreusette comes running to meet them. She catches her breath before apologizing to them._

 _"Sorry for the wait! Coach Sanada was being a pain in the-"_

 _Akashi cleared his throat. "It's better if you don't finish that sentence, Akumi."_

 _The girl looked at him blankly. "Haaaaaai~" she grumbled, then went to Kuroko. "How's the wrist, Tetsuya?"_

 _"Nothing's wrong with my wrist, Akumi-san."_

 _The girl laughed and ruffled the phantom's hair. "Whatever you say, Tetsuya..."_

 _"Momoi, I'll leave it to you," Akashi said. "Don't let Kuroko loiter around. Make sure he goes straight home. Akumi, let' s go." He began walking in the other direction._

 _"W-wait a second...!" Momoi called out in surprise._

 _"You're not going home with us?" Aomine asked._

 _Akashi merely waved his hand in dismissal while Kimiko turned around, almost jogging backwards as she replied, "Have some things to buy! Keep safe on your way home, minna!"_

 _Kimiko was to buy a new notebook from one of the special stationary shops and Akashi of course offered to accompany her, even buying one for himself as well. They were about to head home when they saw an old lady struggling with her things. Kimiko and Akashi looked at one another and went to help._

 _"Thank you so much, my dears," the old woman, Higurashi-obaa-san (Kimiko had chatted the woman until they arrived at the bus stop while Akashi carried the old woman's bag) thanked them as Akashi handed them back to her._

 _"You're welcome, Higurashi-san. Have a safe trip," Akashi said as they stood there and watched the bus drive off. They were staring there for a couple of minutes when a familiar voice spoke behind them._

 _"Aren't you two kind, Akashi, Kimiko."_

 _"Shuuzo-senpai!"_

 _Akashi was a bit surprised. "Nijimura-san..." He tilted his head at his senior. "What do you mean?"_

 _Nijimura glanced down the street. "Don't be shy. You went out of your way to help carry that old lady's luggage. This isn't the road you usually go to school on, right? Are you two on a date or something?"_

 _His_ kouhais _stared blankly at him. Okay, Kimiko was giving him a dirty look._

 _"Nijimura-san usually doesn't go on this road either, right?" Akashi asked, ever the polite underclassman he is._

 _Kimiko was the opposite, though. She huffed and with her nose up in the air, she said, "Probably on a date with Suzu-senpai..."_

 _'Suzu-senpai' was Teikou's volleyball captain, and the chartreusette had been pushing Nijimura to her since her first year._

 _Wisely, Nijimura ignored her teasing and answered Akashi's question instead. "Well, a lot of things happened... Since we're here, let's walk together," he said, and the three of them continued on their way._

 _To his surprise, the store owners seemed to be familiar with his two companions. They were greeting and thanking them for different reasons, and most of them were directed to the redhead himself. Akashi took everything in stride, bowing politely and saying his thanks with a small smile on his lips._

He's certainly a well-liked person inside and outside of school, _Nijimura thought._

 _"By the way, I heard it was you who made Haizaki leave the basketball club," he said. He noticed that Kimiko stiffened for a split second and a troubled look crossed her pretty features as Akashi nodded nonchalantly._

 _"That's right," Akashi said, closing his eyes. When he next opened them, a noticeable change was reflected in them, something cold and harsh. Nijimura frowned to himself. Akashi was looking straight ahead while Kimiko was worrying her lip as she peered at the redhead worriedly. "This is the best way to follow Teikou's principle. Haizaki was a liability. With Kise in the lineup, there's no need for him anymore to stay."_

 _Gone was the light atmosphere around them. Kimiko was getting disturbed at something, and Akashi was acting like a completely different person._

Let's change topics, then, _Nijimura told himself._

 _"Say, Akashi, what do you think about Momoi compared to the other managers?"_

 _His question seemed to snap Akashi out of whatever it was that had gotten to him because he glanced at Nijimura as he thought about the question._

 _"She's not only a manager. As both Kimiko and Momoi had shown since the moment they joined the club, Momoi has an ability that both Shirogane-san and I, as well as Akumi, have."_

 _"You mean, the ability to predict?"_

 _"Combined to her 'woman's intuition' as Satsuki proudly calls it, she can predict how an athlete will grow based on her collected information," Kimiko elaborated._

These two, do they have to be so serious about anything that's basketball-related? _Nijimura sweatdropped._

 _"Idiots. That wasn't what I meant. What I'm asking you, Akashi, is what you think about her figure and chest," he said, watching the younger boy's face for his reaction._

 _He was rewarded by a kick in the shin by the frowning chartreusette. "Shuuzo-senpai, don't tell me you're after Satsuki all this time!"_

 _Akashi gave him a look that's both scolding and disappointed. "Nijimura-san, I never took you to be that kind of person."_

 _"That's gross, Shuuzo-senpai!"_

Well, this is great, _NIjimura thought wryly as his joke backfired on him. "What I mean is, Momoi likes Kuroko, right?"_

 _On Akashi's side, Kimiko nodded. "Yeah, ever since Tetsuya gave her that popsicle stick. She keeps it with her all the time, says it's her lucky item. Shintarou seems to have gotten to her."_

 _At Akashi's slightly confused look, Nijimura smiled. "You didn't realize it? She's always staring at him and blushing at the same time."_

 _"I see... The others are bound to find out sooner or later," Akashi said._

 _"Except for Shintarou," Kimiko said._

 _Akashi agreed with her. "Aa. He's the type to overlook such things." He shrugged. "Well, Momoi will probably be taken by that other guy..." He trailed off thoughtfully, and both Kimiko and Nijimura looked at him in wonder._

 _"Other guy?"_

 _Akashi shook his head. "I'm just speculating. However, because they are too close, she doesn't really sees him..."_

Aomine and Momoi are childhood friends. Akashi and Kimiko knew each other for not more or less three years. Yet their bond is just as strong as theirs, if not more so.

Akashi had once thought that since Momoi is best friends with Aomine, she will never see him in a romantic way. The same goes with Aomine. Knowing Aomine's ideal girl, Momoi surely fits the criteria yet Aomine did not express any form of interest in the pinkette in that manner. Despite the tanned boy's pervert tendencies, Momoi was never on the receiving end of them, which shows that he respects her, and that Momoi trusts him to do so.

Similarly, Akashi trusts Kimiko as much as she trusts him. Although they love arguing with each other, they understand one another to the point that one might think that they can talk to each other through telepathy. They accepted the other for who and what they are.

It's like they've known each other since birth.

 _...because they are too close, she doesn't really sees him._

His own words echoed hauntingly in his ears.

He had already acknowledged that he loves the chartreusette. However, there are many kind of love: romantic love, filial love, Platonic love... How can he determine which one of these is the one that he has for Kimiko?

Akashi made her promise, made her took an oath not to leave him, to be always beside him... Isn't that somehow equivalent of the marriage vows -

 _...to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part..._

-is he planning to keep her that long?

 _I haven't even thought of marriage yet,_ Akashi thought, somewhat disgruntled. _However, I can't picture myself without Akumi... So does that mean that I-_

"Tetsuya! Seijuurou! Are you planning on getting left behind?" Kimiko's voice was slightly drowned out by the announcement on the intercom.

 **For Wakayama-bound passengers, you may now enter the platform and board the train. I repeat. For Wakayama-bound passengers, you may now enter the platform and board the train. Thank you.**

A hand on his arm pulled Akashi from his thoughts. He looked up and met Kuroko's concerned eyes.

"Akashi-kun, we have to go."

Akashi took a deep breath and nodded.

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Akashi did not say anything when Kimiko rests her head on his shoulder as she played the latest Pokemon game on her Nintendo DS, so he watches as she massacred every wild Pokemon in the tall grass in order to raise the levels of her party.

"Tell me, why are Dark types weak to Bug types?" she grumbles mindlessly, not really expecting an answer, and Akashi chuckles a little at her question. It was one she had been asking him since first year in middle school.

"Hm," he replies noncommittally and she continues with her killing spree until she exhausts her PPs and had to drop by a Pokemon center only to do the same thing all over again.

Since Kimiko was occupied with her DS, Akashi drifts back to his thoughts from earlier. He had nothing else to do anyway.

Akashi knew. The moment he kissed her out of the blue, he knew that he had crossed the line of what constituted 'friendship'. However, his other self resurfaces in his mind and glares at him in dissatisfaction.

 _ **You were friends. You started out as complete strangers to suddenly inseparable best buddies. For almost three years, you claimed to be each other's best friends. Unfortunately, you two have forgotten the fact that human emotions are never constant. Emotions change, whether you like it or not, whether you know it or not. Yes, you can say that you are friends - in the past or in the present - but can you say the same in the future?**_

"Akumi."

Surprised, she paused her game and looked up at the troubled redhead. Her brows furrow in concern. "Hai?"

"Can we talk later?"

"S-sure. Over dinner?"

"Aa. Do you have plans for tonight?" he asked, and she smiled sheepishly.

"Actually, Alex invited me to go to an _onsen_... I haven't accepted yet, so no problem."

He remembered how Kimiko adored hot springs and how she always manage to sneak a dip in the _onsen_ in their schedule right before the major tournaments. Not wanting to break her tradition, he thought for a moment and reached his decision.

"We can invite them all to dinner in a hot spring resort."

"I thought you said you wanted to talk to me about something?"

"It can wait until tomorrow." _Probably._ For some reason, Akashi was having a hard time looking for the perfect timing to open up the discussion about the kiss.

And it was annoying him as hell.

"Are you sure?"

Akashi reached out and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Yes, I'm sure."

"By 'them all', you mean-" Kimiko looked around them, "-all of them? All twenty-four of us?"

"Yes. Unless they have other plans."

"If you say so..." This time, Kimiko grinned before announcing to everyone, "Okay, so who wants to go to the hot springs?"

A chorus of excited male voices answered her.

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 ****Wakayama, Japan****

 **和歌山、日本**

Surprise was not the word.

A gleaming twenty-six story Bauhaus Modern-Art Deco building of glass and steel welcomed the group as they stepped out of the limousine. They had parted at the station to drop their things in their respective hotels, and once again, Seirin and Kaijou have decided to stay in the same place. Rakuzan, though, had other plans.

Since they were also known as the _Kaibyaku no Teiou_ (Emperor of Creation), it seemed fitting that they stay at a place fit for an emperor.

Like, the Vermilion Palace, for example.

For once, Mibuchi was not chiding Hayama and Nebuya as they stood there, motionless, mouths agape as they stared up at it. Even Mayuzumi had his eyes wide with surprise as they took in the hotel that they will be staying for the duration of the tournament. Kimiko, however, was watching their reactions, and cannot help the small giggle as she sneakily captured their shocked faces on her trusty DSLR.

They must have stood there for a good twenty seconds before Akashi let out a quiet sigh as he started to walk toward the shiny brass revolving doors of the hotel that was owned by his family's company. Kimiko walked beside him, and the moment they stepped into the lobby, they were greeted by the hotel manager himself and a good number of employees, all of them smartly dressed in their cream and wine red uniforms.

Kimiko had been admiring the hotel's grand lobby, all glass and luxurious designer sofas and ornamental trees and breathtaking landscape paintings when she noticed the crowd. There seemed to be a function of some sort, because the lobby was occupied with elegantly-dressed men in their designer suits and women in formal dresses and kimonos, bejeweled hands holding glasses of expensive drinks that they sip once in a while as they socialized with one another.

 _Way to make us the center of attention, eh,_ she thought, amused. Here they are, dressed only in casual dresses hidden under their coats and scarves, yet the hotel staff are bowing down to them! The people in the lobby turned at the odd scene by the hotel doors, and one look at Akashi's crimson hair was all it took to make the connection.

"Welcome to the Vermilion Palace, Akashi-sama!" the hotel manager said with a bright smile, which Akashi returned with a polite one of his own.

"Thank you, Minamoto-san," Akashi replied, and the man's smile grew brighter when Akashi mentioned his name. "The hotel is certainly doing well," he commented, taking in the size of the crowd in the lobby, his sharp eyes taking note of the important figures present in the said gathering.

 _So that's why Father chose this,_ he sighed internally. It seems that he has more things to worry about aside from the tournament and Kimiko. He won't find it surprising if several of his formal attire is already hanging in his hotel room's closet.

"Indeed, it is, Akashi-sama. Wakayama is a good tourist destination, after all," Minamoto replied, motioning to the bellhops to take care of the group's luggage, while some of the female staff came forward to help them with their coats. Akashi had already removed his and handed it to a blushing woman, and went to assist Kimiko with hers. Minamoto led them to the front desk, where one of the receptionists was standing ready with their card-keys and the hotel brochures that goes along with it.

Akashi was pleased to know that Minamoto was a sensible and honest man and completely dedicated to his work. He did not keep them with idle chatter, but simply led them to their rooms as they talked about the hotel in general, with Kimiko chiming in once in while about the interesting things she finds on the brochure in her hands. Minamoto was ready to answer all of her questions with a smile, as if he finds her curiosity very charming. His answers were simple, not the usual boasting words of other employees Akashi had seen when in the company of their employer.

 _Father doesn't need to worry about the Vermilion here in Wakayama,_ Akashi thought. _It's in capable hands._

"Here is your room, Akashi-sama, and the rooms on either side are for your friends. Your coach and his companions are to be settled on the rooms across the hall."

"Thank you, Minamoto-san," Kimiko said for all of them, and he excused himself and left them to get their rest. Akashi handed Mibuchi and Nebuya their card keys, and motioned them to gather around him for some announcements.

"As was agreed earlier, we will be meeting with Seirin and Kaijou in the Hashirama Hot Springs Inn by five-thirty, which is an hour and a half from now. I have already informed Shirogane-san of our plans and he gave his consent. They will be arriving later, by nine o'clock. We have to be back by then so that we can have a small meeting before the opening ceremony tomorrow. Be ready by five o'clock. Understood?"

"Hai, Captain!" Hayama said with enthusiasm.

Mibuchi smiled. "Got it, Sei-chan."

Mayuzumi nodded while Nebuya only grunted in affirmation. Akashi dismissed them and they all went inside their rooms to prepare and freshen up.

"Nice room," Kimiko said with a sardonic grin as she sat down on the foot of one of the beds. The drapes were pulled to the side, allowing them to see a perfect view of Wakayama Palace. The two beds were too large for a single person, while the room was too large to be shared by only two people. Kimiko picked at the crimson-lined sheets that are perfectly soft under her fingers. "Why are we here again?"

Akashi mirrored her expression as he picked up his bag and began setting their contents inside the closet. His lips twitched when he saw that he was right - of course, he is always right - five suits in various shades of gray and black were there already, complete with the ties and all, down to the perfectly shined shoes.

"Father has other plans, I'm afraid." Good thing he saw that his father had arranged him to stay in the Imperial Suite at the topmost floor of the Vermilion, away from his team, and had reminded his controlling father on his responsibilities as team captain and as such, it is a must that he be with his team at all times.

"He always does, doesn't he?" she said with a despaired sigh, and picked up her own bag of clothes and arranged them in her own designated closet. She brought some dresses as well as jackets and scarves and sports wear (for when they go on their morning runs) and the usual casual wear. Akashi was now finished with his task and was now sitting on the edge of his bed, reading something on his phone. He had already prepared a change of clothes for their dinner later and was waiting for her to take a shower before him.

"You know, you can always go first," she told him.

"Ladies first," he said with a light teasing tone. "I have to make a call and respond to some messages, so take your time."

"Alright." As she made her way to the unnecessarily spacious bathroom, Kimiko sighed.

 _For once, can't Seijuurou think of only one thing? I can't believe he still has to attend to company duties while in the middle of a tournament!_ She shook her head sorrowfully. Ignoring the hotel-provided toiletries, she set down her own toiletries on the shelf. It would have been nice to use the bathtub but then, they will be having a nice, long soak in the hot springs later, and so, she reached for the shower tap instead. _I wonder how I can help him with his tasks?_

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Akashi raised his head just as Kimiko exited the bathroom, wearing a scarlet bathrobe provided by the hotel, her hair wrapped up in a towel in the same shade. She must have taken a warm shower for her skin was lightly flushed, giving her a rosy glow. She blinked when she caught him staring at her.

A tinkling sound coming from his phone was a much needed distraction as Akashi looked away to read the message before going off to the bathroom. Golden eyes followed him until he disappeared behind the door.

 _Not good,_ Akashi thought to himself as he inhaled deeply in an effort to clear his mind. While he was not bothered by the Nationals, he had received instructions from his father to go and visit some of their establishments in the prefecture and to attend the party that will be held in the Vermilion itself on Thursday night, some kind of a anniversary or something of one of his father's business friends. It was wishful thinking on Akashi's part that he will hopefully get a five-day reprieve from all those troublesome things. And to think that he still has to talk to Kimiko about _that._

He ran a hand through his face in frustration.

Standing in the recently used shower, Akashi can smell traces of Kimiko's scent - a mixture of jasmine and citrus. Her toiletries were arranged carefully on one side, leaving enough space for him. _Hmm, these are all foreign brands,_ he cannot help but notice, picking up her shampoo and reading the French label. _Lemons and oranges, eh?_

"I really should start taking my shower now," he muttered when he realized that he had been standing there holding her shampoo for quite a while. He didn't even notice that he had spaced out.

Ignoring the undignified snickers of his other self in his head, the heir proceeded to his business.

It was the fastest shower that he had ever taken.

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"Akumicchi!" Kise waved at them. Behind him was Seirin and Kaijou, all dressed warmly for the evening.

Akashi, as usual, kept to his habit of showing up last on such kinds of gatherings. Since they were a group, that means Kimiko and the Rakuzan team as well. The chartreusette had been teasing the redhead about his penchant on making a grand entrance every time.

The hot springs inn that Akashi had chosen was located in the quieter part of the city. The whole place was something taken out of a samurai movie scene because of the design and the whole atmosphere of the place. Two female attendants dressed in _yukatas_ warmly greeted them, and just like back at the hotel, the manager of the inn came and greeted them personally, and led them to the big dining hall where a dinner feast was served.

Grilled _wagyu_ beef and _unagi,_ deep fried prawns, served with _sashimi_ , salad, and _miso_ soup, with steaming bowls of rice and warm green tea. Kimiko smiled when she noticed that there was also traditional Japanese _agebashi tofu_ as well.

They seated themselves on the low tables, and Kimiko found herself seated with Akashi, Kise, Kasamatsu, Kuroko, and Kagami. Akashi was mildly amused with the arrangement himself. After saying their thanks for the wonderful food served before them, Kimiko had immediately initiated a conversation with the people at their table. The redhead was silent for the most part, only making comments or asking questions when and if he saw fit, preferring to enjoy the sound of the chartreusette's voice, so full of life as they talked about mundane things: the food, Wakayama's weather, Kagami's double eyebrows, Kuroko's bedhead, Kasamatsu's fear of women, and Kise's modeling career, which ended in Akashi asking her about _her_ modeling career.

"Nah, once is enough, I guess," she replied with a shrug as she reached for another fried prawn. The way Kise stared at her lips didn't escape Akashi's sharp gaze and it made him a bit irritated. On impulse, he reached out and swiped his thumb on her lower lip to remove the drop of sauce on them, and to his hidden delight, the girl blushed ever slightly as she murmured her thanks to him. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the Kise frown at him slightly.

 _Hn._

All throughout their meal, Akashi kept making those simple actions for the chartreusette, like pouring her more tea, handing her additional napkins, and once, he even fed her a slice of his _tofu_. Seeing their companions squirm uncomfortably amused him to no end, even if he hid it perfectly. Kuroko was the only one who noticed, which is no surprise after _that_ talk that they had earlier, but then again, the bluenette was always the perceptive one.

Their empty dishes were cleared and since the girl had insisted on dessert, they had to endure another fifteen minutes as they finished their ice cream. Akashi's was green tea-flavored, while Kimiko had chosen the sweet red bean ice cream.

"Shintarou will definitely like this one," she said offhandedly. "I swear, sweet red bean is Shintarou's equivalent of your tofu and your vanilla shake," looking at Akashi and Kuroko in turn.

"Kurokocchi likes vanilla shake too much," Kise said with a chuckle.

"He even smells like it," Kagami grumbled.

Kimiko's eyes lit up with mischief, finding an opening to tease the taller redhead. "So you've taken to sniffing your partner now? Taiga, don't you think that's a bit too much?" she asked with a doubtful tone.

"Does Kurokocchi taste like vanilla too?" Kise wondered playfully.

"Will Kagami-kun try to find out?" Kuroko's face was carefully kept blank but there was a slight curve on his lips and an amused look in his eyes as he watched his flustered partner try to defend himself.

"I wonder how will he do it," Akashi added, meeting Kuroko's eyes, a similar look in his heterochromatic orbs. He smirked as the boy smiled at him.

Kagami couldn't take it anymore as he yelled out, "AAAAAARGH, QUIT GANGING UP ON ME, DAMMIT!"

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Dressed in the resort- provided _yukatas_ , Akashi and Kimiko were standing on the hallway leading to the baths. The girl was holding a brochure and was showing it to her red-haired companion excitedly. "Ne, Seijuurou, look! They have mixed-"

"No." He cut her off mid-sentence.

"But-"

Again, Akashi said, "No."

"No?" Kimiko echoed.

A nod. "No."

"No, as in no?"

Akashi sighed. "Yes, Akumi. No as in no."

A pause. "...Sooooo, that's a no?"

The flame-haired boy rolled his mismatched eyes at her. "Yes, Akumi. No."

"Okay, no as in no. I get it." She returned the brochure on the nearby shelf with not so much grace. "No."

Around them, everyone was staring in disbelief as they watched Akashi Seijuurou argue with Kimiko in such a nonsensical argument.

 _What's with all the 'No' that they were saying?_ Hyuga thought nervously. Isn't it about time that the heterochromatic boy start spouting words like "I am absolute" and throwing shiny pointy scissors everywhere?

Oh, yeah right. Wrong version of Akashi.

 _I don't follow them._ Kagami was looking nervously at the bickering pair, wondering what to do if Akashi suddenly snapped. What are they even talking about in the first place?

"Maybe next time, Akumi," Akashi offered to the slightly sulking girl behind him. _Perhaps when it's just the Kiseki no Sedai with us._

 _ **Or better yet, when it's just the two of us,**_ his other self suggested and Akashi promptly banished him back to the confines of his mind.

"I'm holding you to that," she replied. She gave him a small pinch on the cheek before running off to where Alex and Riko was waiting for her. "Let's go!"

"Hm," and Akashi turned to the men's baths as well, with the rest of them trailing after him.

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Akashi sat in the warm water and allowed himself to relax, almost smiling in bliss at the soothing warmth. No wonder _she_ loved hot springs - it makes one feel _really, really_ good.

However, it could've been much better if his present companions are not so noisy _and_ nosy.

"Kuroko," he said quietly to the blue-haired boy on his left, though it was for the Seirin members who were slowly inching their way closer to the isolated pair. "Tell your teammates that they have nothing to gain by eavesdropping on us."

Koganei gulped nervously. _Busted._

"I apologize for their behavior, Akashi-kun," and Seirin almost paled when Kuroko bowed slightly to Akashi, who looked momentarily in their direction before nodding at Kuroko.

 _Haven't they learned their lesson?_ he thought, remembering the joint training they just had with all the teams not so long ago.

"Kimi-chaaaaaaan~ Take it off and get in here already~"

At Alex's loud voice, all the boys stopped all their horse-playing and looked at the direction of the female's area, which was only separated from them by a wall of bamboo. Seeing their reactions, Akashi scoffed to himself.

 _And you wanted to have mixed bathing, Akumi? With these kind of people?_ he thought. _Never._

Kimiko's voice was barely audible as she replied with a snort, "Do you really have to scream that out loud?"

"Oh, okay then, Riko-chaaaaan~ How about dropping off that towel and joining me here already?"

"Alex-san, I- Aaaah! Wait a minute, Alex-san!" Riko shrieked, and a huge splash followed. It seems that Alex had grown tired of waiting and had decided to pull the brunette into the water.

Off to the side, Kagami can be heard grumbling out loud to no one in particular.

"Tsk... That woman can be so immature at times..."

"The girls seem to be having fun over there," Moriyama commented, just as Alex screeched out loud.

"Kimi-chan, that's unfair! I didn't get to see you naked!"

For some reason, all eyes turned to the redhead, who was perfectly aware of their stares despite the fact that he had his eyes closed at the moment. The fact that Akashi positioned himself right next to the bamboo wall was to keep anyone from eavesdropping or peeking at the girls. Seriously, do they have no respect for females?

 _ **Maybe, maybe not. Either way, the temptation is just too hard to resist... Or should I say, too beautiful to resist?**_

 _Urusai. I didn't ask for your opinion,_ Akashi snapped inside his mind.

 _ **Surely, you've imagined her-**_

Akashi cut him off before he finished that thought. _No, I don't. Now, shut up._

A commotion broke out on their side of the _onsen._

"He-hey, what are you all doing?!" Kise's panicked voice rang out.

"Isn't it obvious?" Moriyama answered while perched on Hayakawa's shoulders.

"BAKA! GET DOWN HERE NOW!" Kasamatsu roared.

"Hyuga! Riko will kill us all if she finds out all about this!" Izuki cried out. The shooting guard glared at the eagle-eyed boy as he balanced himself on Mitobe, who he unwillingly dragged into lifting him up.

In the water, the four Rakuzan members looked at the scene in disdain.

Mibuchi was just about to call his name when Akashi opened his eyes and leveled a scathing look at Seirin and Kaijou players who had gotten out of the water, their towels wrapped around their hips and standing near the dividing wall.

His voice was sharp and cold as he ordered all of them, "Back in the water. Now." His smile was feral as he regarded the insolent fools around him. "It's time you learn how to respect women."

As the guilty people shook in fear for what the red-haired captain have in store for them, Kise, Kuroko and the Rakuzan players sighed.

 _This is going to be a long lecture._

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Due to Alex's loud voice, the girls were unaware of what was going on on the other side of the wall, and honestly, they don't really give a damn about the boys right now. Riko had seen her team topless more often than not during training and sometimes in the locker rooms. The same can be said about Kimiko. As for Alex, well...

Kimiko had only been in the water for about an hour, but given the amount of food she'd eaten during dinner coupled with her exhaustion, it made her sleepy.

"Eh, Kimi-chan, you're leaving already?" Alex asked. According to Akashi, the place was theirs until nine, so they have one more hour in the baths.

"The heat is getting to me already," Kimiko replied, reaching for her towel by the rocks and covering herself as she stepped out of the water. "I think I'll get myself some tea or something." She gestured at the direction of the dining hall.

Taking her leave, Kimiko headed to the changing rooms and wore her dress under the provided _yukata_. She drifted down the hall, and instead of entering the dining area, she turned left and entered the tea room. The interior was designed like one of the rich teahouses in Kyoto and she wandered around the room inspecting the decorations and the scrolls hanging on the walls with such concentration that she did not notice the presence of another human in the room with her.

She was reading the _tanka_ on one of the scrolls when a familiar voice called her name. Turning around, she almost fell backwards in surprise had not he caught her arm and pulled her to him.

"Seijuurou!"

Akashi released her then and shifted his gaze to the scroll she'd been reading just a moment ago.

 _Arazaramu  
Kono yo no hoka no  
Omoide ni  
Ima hito tabi no  
Au koto mo gana._

(My life is drawing to a close,  
I cannot longer stay,  
A pleasant memory of thee  
I fain would take away;  
So visit me, I pray.)

"Why are you here?"

"I was about to ask you that same question," he replied with a soft smile. After giving them a long lecture on respect, Akashi had decided to leave the baths altogether. He wanted to have green tea all of a sudden, and had headed straight to this room only to find it occupied.

"I ate too much and I'm still tired from traveling. The hot water is making me sleepy so I went off here to have tea. You?"

"For tea," came Akashi's short reply. Kimiko had gone off from his side and was fiddling with the stove.

"Everything's set up," she said, holding a traditional bamboo whisk and turning it over in her hand. She got an idea as Akashi settled on the floor opposite her. "Let's see if I can perform the tea ceremony properly..." Kimiko looked at him. "Tell me if I'm doing anything wrong, okay?"

"Alright."

Akashi watched as she prepared their tea in the traditional way in the ceremonial tea ceremony.

As she poured tea in Akashi's cup, Kimiko drew the sleeve of her _yukata_ out of the way, showing the still flushed skin of her forearm. For some reason, Akashi found himself unable to tear his gaze from it.

Once her own cup was filled and the pot was back on the stove, Kimiko took her seat across him on the low table and smiled at the redhead. "So, how was my performance, Seijuurou-sama?"

He had to clear his throat before he can speak properly. "Perfectly done. When did you learn it?"

"Grade school."

Akashi raised his eyebrow at her answer, then he remembered that she had a knack on remembering things and didn't say anything as he lifted his cup to take a sip of his tea. Kimiko followed suit once she deemed her tea had cooled down enough to not scald her tongue when she drinks it.

"So what was it that you want to tell me, Seijuurou?" she asked after a period of comfortable silence between them.

The way he looked at her, the intensity reflected in his ruby eyes made her a bit nervous. Unconsciously, her hand gripped her teacup a bit tighter than necessary as she waited for him to speak.

"Akumi, do you think of us as friends?"

His question definitely caught her off-guard. "Of course..."

"And you have not thought otherwise?"

Now, that confused her. "What do you mean?"

Akashi sighed, and it made her jump slightly. "Have you ever thought that we are not friends?"

"Seijuurou, I'm afraid you're not making sense right now," Kimiko stated dryly. Inwardly, she was starting to panic as she tried to figure out the logic behind his line of questioning. What was he implying?

"Very well then," he said, trying hard to keep his voice even. "We'll have this discussion some other time." Frankly, he himself was unprepared. Akashi, who prided himself on having excellent oratory skills, cannot even figure out how to start broaching this particular topic. Give him a business meeting or a criminal interrogation any day.

"But, Seijuurou-"

Akashi stopped her. "Have you been to the garden, Akumi?" He didn't wait for her reply as he stood up, teacup in one hand as he offered her the other. "Maybe a walk will clear both our heads."

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 _What's gotten into him?_ Kimiko wondered beside Akashi on the bamboo bridge spanning across the _koi_ pond in the center of the garden. Bundled in their coats and scarves, the two had gone off into the cold late winter evening and had sat on the edge of the bridge, their boot-clad feet dangling just above the water, shimmering with the reflection of the stars above them.

She looked up into the skies, unaware of Akashi's gaze on her. She was thinking of their earlier conversation when she remembered.

 _Should I really bring this up right now?_ Kimiko hesitated. Finding herself unable to meet his gaze, she fixed her eyes on the moon and asked in a soft voice lacking her usual confidence.

"Seijuurou," she began, and she felt him shift slightly beside her. He didn't answer, and she took it as a sign to continue. "I have been wanting to ask you this the past few days, and I want you to answer me truthfully..."

 _Don't back out, don't back out._

Kimiko took a deep breath and turned to face Akashi.

 _I can do this._

"Tell me, Seijuurou, why did you kiss me that night?"

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	31. 第31章

**Author's Note:** The conversation between Kimiko and Akashi had been revised to fit the changes that will be applied in later chapters. Which one do you prefer, the original or this revised version?

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **31** **章**

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— **日** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **7** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Wakayama, Japan ****

 **和歌山** **、** **日本**

The moment Kimiko asked him that question did Akashi realize just how much the girl had been holding in all this time that they were together. Every part of her trembled – her voice wavered when she had spoken, and her hands shook even as she tried to hide it by wrapping her fingers tightly around her teacup. She looked utterly fragile and vulnerable, shivering that has nothing to do with the winter cold. All those feelings, those doubts and insecurities and secret hopes she'd thought and felt since that Wednesday night when he kissed her was finally showing itself to him, and his chest tightened in guilt and shame.

 _How could I have been so blind to her pain? How could I have missed it?_

As Akashi struggled to find the proper words to answer her question, Kimiko had turned her gaze away from him, now looking at the empty teacup in her hands like it was a thing of great interest to her. It didn't help that Akashi was unusually taking too long to respond. The silence might have lasted for only a few seconds, but to Kimiko, it felt like forever, and she was starting to get really anxious.

 _Why was he not saying anything?_

Part of her wanted to run away right now and forget everything that had happened for the last five days. She was really scared of how the crimson-haired boy would react.

 _Now what?_

Seeing him at the Kyoto station was hard enough; Akashi acting like the kiss didn't happen was worse. However, seeing him tired and overworked made her rethink her decision on asking him about it the moment he approached her to help her with her luggage. It was glaringly obvious that Akashi was dealing with a lot of things at the moment, what with the upcoming Nationals tournament plus his heir duties… She was not that selfish to add another problem to his ginormous pile of responsibilities – she would not let herself inconvenience the redhead that way.

And so she acted as normally as she could, taking care not to let her true emotions float to the surface. She must have done a mighty good job of it as the heir didn't seem to notice – that or he preferred it that way, which she was starting to believe to be the case because he didn't said a thing about it all this time.

Unable to bear the tension, she began to ramble, her tongue stumbling on her words. A tear leaked out her closed eyes unchecked.

"I'm sorry-I wasn't thinking... I shouldn't-I shouldn't have asked! It was selfish of me... forget everything I said... it was stupid – you must have a lot of things to worry about than –"

"Akumi..."

Kimiko raised her head at the sound of her name. His voice was tinged with a sadness that caught her unaware. Gold eyes met ruby ones, watching their brightness getting dulled by the growing loneliness in them. He was starting to fear that things will now change between them – and it will be _once again_ his fault.Surprisingly, the Emperor was silent inside him.

"Why did you do it, Seijuurou?" she asked in a broken whisper. _Tell me your reason, because I don't want to do something stupid._

Slowly, Akashi takes the teacup away from her and puts it down on the wooden boards. He holds her hand and looks her straight in the eye. _This is it. I have to tell her now._

"I-"

"Sei-chan!" Mibuchi's call surprised the both of them, and Kimiko jerks her hand out of his hold by reflex. The two looks up as Mibuchi runs up to them, still in his _yukata_ , his hair dripping wet like he had just run straight from the hot springs to them. "There you are! Shirogane-kantoku is looking for you!"

"Shirogane-san?" Akashi narrows his eyes. He checks his phone and sees a message from his coach an hour ago. He clicked his tongue.

Mibuchi nods at him and points at the main building. "He's arrived with Genta-san. They're in the dining hall as we speak."

Kimiko cleared her throat. "Let's go, Seijuurou," she said, standing up from her seat.

And just like that, the moment is broken.

Mibuchi looks at the two of them and remembers their position before he arrived. Akashi looks quite annoyed – at him, no less. Mibuchi swallowed nervously.

"A-ano, S-sei-chan, I-I didn't interrupt something, d-did I?"

Akashi snorted as a scowl appeared on his face. _Mibuchi did have a rotten sense of timing in occasions like this. I'll just make him squirm, then._ It was certainly childish of him to do so, but his annoyance got the better of him. He ignored Kimiko's disapproving stare.

"You certainly did," he replied, his calm voice betraying none of his vexation. In his mind, his other self was snickering at him and his failed confession..

 _ **What is it that they say in times like this? 'Better luck next time?'**_

 _Urusai,_ Akashi snapped, _and stop acting like an idiot._

 _ **Who was it whose attempt at admitting his long-harbored feelings for his best friendwas foiled by his androgynous teammate?**_ the Emperor shot back with a withering glare that Akashi returned with one of his own.

"Oi, Seijuurou, quit that," Kimiko chided mildly upon seeing Mibuchi's frightened expression. She nodded to Mibuchi, thanking him for informing Akashi about the arrival of their coach before whisking the redhead away from the scene without batting an eyelash.

 _Kimi-chan just saved my life,_ Mibuchi thought in relief as he walked back to the baths. He then frowned to himself, _What did I exactly interrupted when I walked in on them like that? What were they doing before I– Let's see...They were sitting side by side, and Sei-chan was holding Kimi-chan's hand, and–_

His eyes widened in realization. "Oh. My. God..." He slapped a hand over his mouth in mixed horrification and giddiness. "Was Sei-chan planning to confess to Kimi-chan?! OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!" If that was indeed the case, then–

Mibuchi turned white as a sheet. He recalled Akashi's irritated face.

 _I am so dead._

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The walk to the dining area was a quiet one, though Akashi was internally relieved that Kimiko was not avoiding him or anything like that. She was walking beside him with a pensive look on her face, relying on him to guide her down the hall because her eyes were not really focused on the path before her.

It was only when he tapped her lightly on the shoulder did she look at him.

"We're here," he told her in a quiet voice. Standing just outside the door to the dining area, he watched as Kimiko wiped off any trace of sadness on her face and replaced it with a convincing smile as he led her inside, greeting Kaijou's coach and his companions with a polite smile on her face.

No wonder even he failed to notice that she was actually conflicted inside - the mask she was wearing right now was an excellent one that anyone wouldn't think of it as anything but genuine.

With renewed determination, Akashi followed behind her, his eyes zeroing on the golden-eyed girl who was already speaking to a servant to bring food for the latecomers. He can feel his coach's questioning gaze on him, looking at Kimiko then to Akashi as the latter took a seat across them.

"Good evening, Shirogane-san, Genta-san," Akashi said with a courteous bow of his head. "I am glad you accepted the invitation. The food here is excellent. Perhaps after dinner, you would like to try the baths as well. There is still an hour left but we can extend the reservation."

"If it won't be too much trouble, Akashi," Shirogane replied gratefully just as the food were brought in by five servants. Kimiko joined in their table then, taking the job of pouring tea for the two older men.

"Thank you," Shirogane said, looking at the girl curiously. Akashi took it as a cue to introduce her then.

"Shirogane-san, this is Kimiko Akumi. Akumi, this is Rakuzan's head coach, Shirogane Eiji."

"It's an honor to meet you, Shirogane-san," Kimiko said, bowing her head.

The man's sharp eyes observed her like a hawk. "Likewise, Kimiko-san. I assume that you are a friend of Akashi?"

"Hai. We've known each other since middle school," she replied, not the least bit perturbed at the scrutiny.

Shirogane Eiji was clearly surprised. "Teikou?"

Kimiko nodded. "Hai."

"Akumi was the first-string coach in my second and third year. She was the one who handled our training for the tournaments since Shirogane Kozo fell ill by the end of our first year," Akashi explained and a flash of recognition came in the man's eyes at the mention of his older brother.

"I see… So you are the Akumi-chan that Kozo-nii was always talking about," he said, his usual strict face immediately becoming more friendly. Akashi was not surprised.

"Yes, I probably am," Kimiko said with a smile.

"Aniki told me a lot about you," Shirogane Eiji said a while after they began eating. Akashi was on the other table, talking to their bench players. The man glanced at the redhead before turning his gaze back to Kimiko. "He told me a lot of stories about Teikou, and would always tell me whenever he has a good player on his hands and would recommend them for me to recruit to Rakuzan. He told me you and Akashi was a package deal, thus I wondered why you didn't show up last year."

"I had to go abroad to attend to some family matters, Eiji-san. However, I am unaware that Kozo-san recommended me to Rakuzan – I'm not a player."

Eiji raised an eyebrow and took another bite of his dinner. "Aniki told me about Akashi and his... condition. Perhaps it had something to do with it, and he did acknowledge your skill when it comes to handling the _Kiseki no Sedai…_ Surely it is not an easy feat."

Kimiko's eyes softened at the memory. "Kozo-san takes care of us like a father. I know he has been asking the other coaches about his former players and would give them tips and pointers on how to deal with their... quirkiness." She grinned at the last word.

"Kozo did help me a lot on how to deal with Kise," Genta commented.

Eiji turned to his fellow coach. "I thought Kise was in second year when he joined the Teikou basketball club? _Aniki_ was already in the hospital by then."

"Eiji-san is right, but I made sure to report everything to Kozo-san during his absence from the club, and we did visit him when we have the time. Sometimes, I ask him questions to improve our training regimen," Kimiko replied.

"Shirogane-san and Akumi are firm believers of the saying that nothing kills the young, which was evident in our daily training," Akashi chimed in, reclaiming his seat beside Kimiko.

" _Aniki_ did mention having a perfect disciple, if not better." Kimiko's cheeks colored slightly at the compliment.

The four talked about basketball all throughout the dinner, telling stories about their coaching experiences and exchanged advices. Akashi noted that Kimiko was holding back on purpose, as none of her unorthodox training methods made it into their conversation. When they finished eating, a servant came and led them to the baths while Kimiko and Akashi remained as they have no desire to return to the _onsen_. Instead, Akashi accompanied the girl as she explored the other rooms and buildings in the resort until they stumbled into a mini-theater where traditional dances and songs are performed on special occasions, according to the brochure.

"Hey, check this out! They have a _shamisen_!" It seemed like she had already forgotten their interrupted conversation earlier, and Akashi isn't sure if that is a good thing.

 _Probably not._

Akashi helped her assemble the instrument and in no time, the girl was already plucking away at the strings, while the redhead was busy inspecting the genuine _Noh_ masks hanging on the walls and reciting the meaning of each in his head.

"Ne, Seijuurou, do you know this piece?" Kimiko called out to him from her seat on the stage, and Akashi inclined his head to her direction to show that he was listening.

"Takeda's Lullaby, isn't it?"

"Yep! You still recognize the tune so I guess I'm not so bad, I think," she grinned as she plucked the strings in a random tune. Well, not so random as Akashi began to make out the opening notes of an old traditional song whose title was lost on him _._ The girl was having a hard time, though, as she made a lot of mistakes and Akashi made it to sixteen before she accepted defeat. He heard her grumbling as she replaced the _shamisen_ in its case before heading to his direction. She had some knowledge on _Noh_ , and she asked him questions about the masks that she doesn't recognize. An hour passed and it was already time to go, and as everyone gathered in the lobby looking thoroughly refreshed, Akashi can only look on as the chartreusette said her goodbyes to everyone.

 _ **Though it thoroughly amuses me to see you behaving like that, I felt the need to remind you – move too slow, and you will lose her. Move too fast, and you will lose her all the same. It's a matter of timing. The copycat and that mirage shooter has their eyes on her, you better be on guard for the things they will do to gain her affection.**_

 _I know that,_ Akashi grumbled. He saw Kise hug Kimiko, and he didn't miss the boy's reluctance to let go. Kuroko noticed it too, and his blue eyes was filled with turmoil when he saw the silent exchange between Rakuzan's captain and Kaijou's ace.

It seems that Kise had already made up his mind. Akashi had accepted the challenge.

 _Bring it on._

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"Kurokocchi, do you think I'm stupid?" Kise asked his blue-haired friend silently. They were walking at the back of the group, headed in the opposite direction from Rakuzan.

"To be honest, I think you are brave, Kise-kun, to openly challenge Akashi-kun like that. However, I am afraid that you are fighting a losing battle, Kise-kun… You'll only get yourself hurt."

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"Good night, everyone!" Kimiko said to them in the hallway. Everyone returned the greeting to her and Akashi led her to their shared room. Rakuzan's coach raised an eyebrow at them but didn't say anything.

Kimiko was blow-drying her hair when Akashi came out of the bathroom after changing into his sleeping clothes which consisted of black sweatpants and a gray shirt. Kimiko, on the other hand, was wearing a deep red-violet long-sleeved shirt that was too big on her slender frame, reaching her mid-thigh and fell loosely on her shoulders, exposing her collarbone. She was humming softly as she worked on her long hair that now reached down to her waist, and she was not even halfway done.

Without thinking, Akashi sat beside her on her bed and took the comb and hair dryer from her.

"Turn around," he told her.

"Do you even know how to – never mind." Kimiko did as she was told and Akashi began combing her long hair and passing the hair dryer over the lime-green strands. "You know, you really don't have to do this..."

"Hmm." Her hair was soft and silky in his hands. "Your hair is too long," he said, his movements gentle but efficient. "It does not bother you?"

"You think I should cut it?"

"Not really. You look good with long hair," he replied. "That shirt… It's Nijimura-senpai's, isn't it?"

The girl before him laughed. "You noticed. Yeah, it's from Shuuzo-senpai. I have one from each of you, though I gave Satsuki the one that belonged to Tetsuya."

Akashi was silent for a moment, then said, "I wonder how he is right now..."

"Hm?" Kimiko turned her head but was admonished by the redhead immediately, telling her to stay put. Akashi almost chuckled when the girl pouted and grumbled halfheartedly but complied anyway.

"I was wondering about Nijimura-senpai," Akashi said once she settled down.

In actuality, Kimiko had kept contact with the raven-haired boy all this time and knows everything that he has been up to since Nijimura graduated from Teikou. However, she had to keep it a secret for now – she had made a promise with her _senpai_ , after all – and so she played ignorant for the time being.

"I wonder if he's enjoying Las Vegas."

"Knowing the type of person he is, I highly doubt that," Akashi said, nearly done with her hair. After a final comb of the chartreuse locks, Akashi announced the job done.

"We should go to sleep now, Akumi. It's getting late." Akashi rose and went to his own bed, leaving Kimiko gaping at his back. She blinked once, twice, then shook her head. She definitely felt him kissing the top of her head while her back was turned!

 _Just what the hell was that all about?_ she wondered. Akashi had her back turned to her, and he looks already asleep. Following his suit, she crawled under her covers and turned off the lights with the remote. She stared at the ceiling for a while, then glanced at her slumbering companion. First, he kisses her then acts like it didn't happen, and now, this?

"Good night, Seijuurou," she murmured just loud enough for him to hear and drifted off to sleep, her breathing even and slow.

On the other bed, Akashi slowly turned to face her and answered back.

"Good night, Akumi."

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— **1** **st** **Year, Teikou Middle School** **—**

 _It was their usual morning run around town, and Kimiko was up front as always, side by side with the captain and vice captain of Teikou's basketball team, matching the boys' pace easily and not getting the least bit tired herself. Once in a while she would drop out of formation and jog down the line of the members, checking them for signs of exhaustion or dehydration, making sure that they were all right, before dashing up to the front of the line again and resuming her position at the head of the pack._

 _"Isn't it too quiet?" Kimiko had asked aloud during her first run with the team. Nijimura was against her idea of joining them but she had given him her challenging smirk and the raven-haired senior can only sigh in resignation, to the delight of the grinning chartreusette._

 _"Of course, it's early morning," Nijimura grumbled, and Kimiko looked at him as if to say,_ Duh.

 _"Don't you guys do some cheers or chants while you run?" she asked again, this time with an incredulous tone in her voice._

 _"..."_

 _"You don't?!" The girl went bug-eyed then shook her head. "How boooring~"_

 _"Kimiko—"_

 _"Don't you know that chanting while running or jogging helps air circulation and boosts team morale?" she said, then looked at the silent redhead beside her, as if daring him to say anything to disprove her statement._

 _"Kimiko, we're not in the goddamn military."_

 _At their captain's language, the girl noticed the small frown of disapproval that formed on the heir's lips, but when he didn't say anything, an idea came to her and she smirked._

 _"Shuuzo-taichou, you fucking swear too goddamn much."_

 _The words were clearly said out loud, and everyone who heard her choked while some almost tripped in surprise._

 _"K-Kimiko, you—!" Nijimura started, glaring at the chartreusette who nonchalantly cussed in front of the basketball club, and she laughed then, a merry chuckle that rang out in the early morning's silence._

 _Behind them, Aomine cannot help but to laugh out loud along with the others, thinking all the while,_ This girl sure is unpredictable. She's pretty cool, though.

 _"You started it, Taichou~" the girl teased then ran ahead and faced the team, jogging backwards. Blowing her whistle to get everyone's attention, she then spoke out loud in a clear voice, "Okay, boys! We'll try something new today!" she grinned, then continued, "Me and your leaders will chant 'Let's go, Teikou, let's go!' and you all will answer, 'Let's go!'" Get that?" When no one voiced out their complaints (not that anyone would dare to do so — the first string learned that the first day the fiery chartreusette was appointed as their training manager), Kimiko's smile went up a few watts. "Alright! Let's do this — Let's go, Teikou, let's go!"_

 _"Let's go!"_

 _"Let's go— Hey, Taichou, Seijuurou, come on, join me!"_

" _Let' s go, Teikou, let's go!"_

 _"Let's go!"_

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— **月** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **8** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Wakayama, Japan ****

 **わかやま、日本**

"Oi, that's Rakuzan, right?" Okamura said, squinting at the white-and-light blue-uniformed people on the other side of the track. It was the morning of the Nationals tournament, the opening ceremonies starting three hours from now. Yosen will be having a game later that afternoon, and they think that it would be better if they do some warming up, which brought them to the local sports camp which houses a competition gymnasium, a multilevel fitness facility, and an Olympic-sized swimming pool, among others.

"Hm, that's Aka-chin," Murasakibara said, eyes locked on the crimson-haired guy at the front of the group. "And Kumi-chin," he added, catching his partner's attention.

"Kimiko?" Himuro cannot help but echo in surprise.

The Rakuzan team was drawing closer to where the Yosen team was standing just outside of the track oval, and at the head was Rakuzan's captain in their school colors, running side by side with a golden-eyed beauty with the most striking lime-green hair.

And she's yelling up a storm.

Backed by none other than Nebuya Eikichi, the one and only _Gouriki_ , the noise that they were creating can probably wake the dead as the rest of the team answered back, a chorus of lively, strong, masculine voices accentuated by a lone yet equally powerful and feminine one.

"Rakuzan sure is lively in the morning," Liu said, yawning as he did so.

"They're all fired up," Fukui noted with a slight grimace. "Never seen such a team enjoying early morning runs like they do."

Murasakibara only yawned as he scratched at his head lazily. "It's Kumi-chin's magic..."

Just as Rakuzan passed them by, Himuro raised a hand, hoping to catch the girl's attention. She was looking at them, but not at _him_ , because when she waved back, it wasn't his name that she called out. "Atsushi!"

"Morning, Kumi-chin!" Murasakibara greeted back with more enthusiasm than he usually showed. They saw Akashi gave a casual nod at their direction and then Rakuzan was gone to complete one last round of the oval. Okamura then told them to assemble and prepare to run, and all Himuro can think of was how Kimiko looked beautiful, especially when her face was flushed like that.

"Kumi-chin didn't see you," Murasakibara said beside him.

"They were running too fast for her to return my greeting," Himuro said coolly, but to be honest, the fact that she ignored him rankled a bit.

"Kumi-chin called my name~," and the purple-haired center smiled proudly when a vein popped in his partner's head.

"Atsushi?"

"Hai, Muro-chin?"

A single eye glared at him beneath those inky locks. "Shut up."

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 **ー** **1st Year, Teikou Middle School** **ー**

 _Everyone was sweating and panting by the time they returned to the gym. Even though she was tired, Kimiko remained the responsible manager and checked up on the players as they cooled down by walking around the court. She rushed to Kuroko who was close to fainting, trailing behind the team, and walked beside him, matching his pace._

 _"You did well today, Tetsuya," she said with a proud smile._

 _"The special training menu you gave me helped a lot to improve my stamina," Kuroko replied. He looked at his hand and clenched it into a fist. "I still have a long way to go."_

 _His gaze was fixed on Aomine, who was at the head of the group along with the other freshmen._

 _He almost fell flat on his face when Kimiko slung her arm around his shoulder heavily. "Now, now, Tetsuya... If I hear you overworking yourself..." She let the threat hang in the air, and Kuroko gulped in fear at the thinly-veiled threat._

 _"Of course, Kimiko-san. I will take care of myself and will do only what was written on my menu."_

 _"Good. And again, call me 'Akumi'."_

 _"...Hai, Akumi-san."_

 _Kimiko let out a long suffering sigh. "...You're hopeless..."_

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Seirin arrived in the athletic center to have their morning run just as Yosen completed their first round on the oval. They paused for a moment to watch the Akita team before their coach cleared her throat.

"Let's use the treadmills for today," Riko said, leading her team to the fitness center. Her father's connections allowed Seirin to use the facilities as long as no one else is there with them, and the brunette was sure to use that to their advantage.

The fitness center was right beside the open field, and through the glass walls, Seirin can see Yosen outside. However, what they didn't expect to see inside the center was Rakuzan, who was on their final set of stretches on the mats. There was no missing the chartreusette that was helping a certain redhead do his stretches and when she was done with Akashi, she dropped to the floor and went into a split position effortlessly. Akashi then takes her hands and pulls her forward until her nose touched the floor. He held her there for a full sixteen seconds before she straightened up and takes the redhead's hand to pull her up as the rest finished up as well. Riko cannot help but asses her physical statistics and almost went green with envy upon seeing her more-than-above average stats.

"That felt good," Kimiko announced cheerily, and stretched her arms above her head, eyes closed in pure bliss. She looks like a satisfied lioness after a kill. The act, however, caused her shirt to ride up, revealing her tight and well-toned stomach.

"Cover yourself," Akashi said flatly and poked her just above her bellybutton. The girl yelped in surprise, a faint blush on her cheeks as her arms wrapped around her waist as if to protect it from further harm. She was glaring sharply at the smirking redhead, his ruby eyes glinting with triumph and a hint of mischief.

"Watch your back, Seijuurou… Who knows when an egg is gonna land on that pretty head of yours..."

"Thanks for the warning, Akumi," Akashi replied with a smirk on his thin lips. "However, we have to leave now to make way for Seirin. _Iku zo._ "

As his teammates lined up, Kimiko waved at the newcomers.

"Morning!" She then grinned at Kuroko. "Tetsuya."

"Good morning, Akumi-san," Kuroko replied.

"See you later at the opening ceremonies," Akashi addressed all of them, and Kuroko answered for his team.

"Hai, Akashi-kun."

"We'll be going, then," and the Rakuzan players filed out the door in orderly fashion, with Akashi and Kimiko bringing up the rear. Seirin stared after them until they were out of sight.

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"I want to run with Kumi-chin again," Murasakibara said as they cooled down from their run. Being used to Akita's cold weather, the late winter chill of Wakayama was nothing to them.

"Was it the girl who waved to you earlier? How come you know a hot chick like that anyway, huh, Murasakibara?" Fukui asked.

"She's Atsushi's coach back in Teikou," Himuro answered for his partner, who was too busy glaring at their point guard for some reason.

"With that long legs of yours, you'll be walking while she runs to catch up with you," Okamura said with a laugh.

Murasakibara scowled. "Kumi-chin is faster than me." If memory serves him right, the only ones who managed to outrun her was Aomine and Akashi, and just barely.

"You sure you're not just letting her win?" Liu teased. Despite his size, Murasakibara was agile and not clumsy at all, especially when he was all fired up, so how can that doll-like girl be faster than him?

"She managed to keep up with Rakuzan's pace and strength, you know," Himuro pointed out, defending Kimiko. He had played against her once and he was sure that Murasakibara was telling the truth.

"Hey, you said she was your coach?"

"How come we didn't see her last year?"

"So she went to Rakuzan, eh?"

At his teammates' questions, Himuro ended up telling them Kimiko's story – minus all the drama, of course. He just narrated the facts without including all the personal details, with Murasakibara clarifying things when his _senpais_ ask.

"Damn, and she trains with you as well? What for?" Fukui had a look of astonishment in his eyes.

Murasakibara looked up at the early morning sky, deep in thought. _How did Kumi-chin said it?_ "She said that a good leader do not ask his subordinates to do what he was not willing to do himself." He remembered how most of the members complained about her training until she went down and did it with them – that shut them up and made them respect her greatly.

"Why did she settle for being a mere coach if she got the skill and talent, then? Why not join the girls' basketball team, then?"

"Teikou doesn't have one. She plays with us during practice."

"Is she good?"

"She is. I played against her once," Himuro said.

"You didn't tell me that, Muro-chin," Murasakibara said with a frown. However, instead of answering, Himuro continued walking and remained quiet until they did their stretches on the open field. Their teammates noticed this, of course, and looked at one another. They just hope that whatever it is that was going on between their double ace will not affect their game play, because if it did, then Yosen was screwed.

That was for sure.

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It was seven-thirty, and Kimiko found herself seated next to Akashi along with the rest of his team in one of the five restaurants of the Vermilion. Coach Shirogane was at the head of the table, dressed in a dark suit. Looking at them, Kimiko was reminded of her old middle school team- Rakuzan and Teikou's uniforms did resemble each other a lot, and both carried the same amount of prestige and expectation.

She stirred her coffee absently. Aside from Shirogane and Akashi who had chosen tea, the rest was having the same beverage as her. They had chosen Western-styled breakfast – the usual ham and eggs, with hash browns and French toast on the side, only that the servings were more generous than the usual. Nebuya even asked for seconds.

 _Or was it thirds?_

"I can arrange for Kimiko to sit on our bench, if you like," Coach Shirogane was saying to Akashi, who did not reply immediately. Instead, he turned to her and asked for her opinion.

"I'll watch the games from the stands, Eiji-san." As much as she would like to watch the redhead's matches up-close, she was not one to abuse power. She was thinking of keeping Alex company, anyway.

"I understand. If you change your mind, just tell Akashi," Shirogane simply said before addressing his team and repeating his reminders to them. Akashi remained quiet through it all.

Akashi is not exactly a chatterbox, but since this morning, he had been acting odd. Not including their morning run, the redhead was distant and deep in thought, and Kimiko was starting to get worried when he was ignoring her and shutting himself from the rest of the world.

"Why didn't you accept Coach's offer?" Akashi finally asked when the group was boarding the shuttle bus that will take them to venue of the opening ceremonies. They were sitting at the front row. Akashi let her take the window seat and sat next to her after putting their bags on the overhead compartment. She had her DSLR out and ready, hanging around her neck.

"I am not part of your team, Seijuurou. I have no business sitting in your bench as if I belong there," she replied. Akashi huffed silently. "I'll be watching all of your matches, though, and I'll join you on the stands when your team is up there."

"Fine. Stay with Alex, and let me know if you will be going out or something. Keep your phone charged and open."

Kimiko laughed at him, "Hai, hai."

"I would like you to be on our bench during the Finals, though," Akashi said, not looking at her.

"Seijuurou..." she began, a warning tone in her voice.

Akashi was not easily discouraged, though. He looked at her in the eyes and said, "Just consider it."

She held his stare for a long moment before she finally replied with a sigh. "Fine."

"Good." Akashi's mood visibly brightened, easing her worries a little bit but making her wonder at the same time. She recalled their conversation last night, the one where he asked her if she considers them as friends _._ She tried to ignore it to avoid over-thinking it but even then, why can't she shake the nagging feeling that tells her that that conversation was just a prelude to something else?

 _Something that she would've found out already had Mibuchi not decided to barge in on them._

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 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京、日本**

"Man, the opening ceremonies would be taking place right about now," Takao grumbled to himself as he looked at the clock above the chalkboards. He leaned back on his chair, balancing a pencil above his upper lip. He sighed. _It could have been us in the Nationals right now…_ He remembered the Winter Cup semifinals match. He had gone against the _Kiseki no Sedai_ captain, Akashi Seijuurou, and he was unable to do anything against the red-haired point guard. Despite Midorima telling him that Akashi had changed (he had seen it with his own two eyes, of course – he was there watching the Finals when Seirin turned the tables on Rakuzan), there was still a part of him that was upset with his partner's former captain. When Shutoku had lost against Rakuzan, Midorima had cried on their way back to the locker room. Takao had cried too, angry at his own powerlessness… He wouldn't have had to see their usually stoic ace in tears if he was a better point guard, if he had been more skilled, more talented…

Takao clenched his fists in frustration.

 _I have to train harder to help Shin-chan and the team,_ he swore silently to himself. However, a grain of doubt grew in his mind. _But even if I trained to the death, can I do it? Can my Hawk Eye even match that Emperor Eye?_

He had witnessed Akashi's skills firsthand, and comparing his skill to his own was like comparing heaven and earth. Even more so when the real Akashi had came out, and Takao found himself getting jealous when he saw Midorima's expression when Akashi passed the ball to Rakuzan's shooting guard, Mibuchi Reo. With just that single pass, Midorima was able to tell the original Akashi from the other one, and it even seemed to Takao that in that moment, Midorima looked like he wanted to be the one receiving that pass from Akashi.

 _Of course, Shin-chan would like a point guard that can bring out the best in him,_ Takao admitted grudgingly. _I wouldn't be surprised if he chose that Akashi over me… Even after all the things that happened between them…_

The fact that the _Kiseki no Sedai_ followed Akashi without question up until now, even though he's no longer their captain and therefore had no hold on them whatsoever made Takao envious at times. Sure, he was Midorima's _current_ teammate and point guard, but Midorima had Akashi first and had played _with_ Akashi for _three_ years and had won every match and tournament he participated _with_ Akashi by his side.

During Kuroko's birthday party, Midorima had expressed concern over Akashi when the latter was ignored by Kimiko. He had also seen them talking seriously several times, and Midorima was surprisingly at ease around his former captain. It's like being around his former teammates makes him more talkative and expressive than he ever was with his current team. Sure, the _Kiseki_ at first glance looks quite dysfunctional, given their clashing personalities, but somehow, they compliment one another, making up for what the others lacked, and when they were a team, they were simply unstoppable. Akashi was Midorima's teammate when they played that day, and even though the green-haired teen tried to hide it, Takao saw him smiling to himself whenever Akashi passes the ball to him. It made him wonder, _How does Shin-chan feels when I passes the ball to him?_

Takao sighed. _Why am I even thinking like this?_ He felt bad for thinking against Akashi. In the short while that he was with the other boy, he actually thought that Akashi isn't so bad after all. Sure, he was intimidating and all, but if you get past that, Akashi was actually a pleasant companion. He had tried approaching his fellow point guard during the games; Akashi had been watching the proceedings from a corner, not really keen on joining himself unless Kimiko approaches him when she needed a partner. Takao had gotten curious, or perhaps he just liked putting himself in danger because before he knew it, he was standing before the redhead, who was looking at him with an indiscernible expression on his face.

" _Do you need something, Takao?" Akashi asked._

" _You remembered my name?" Takao found himself asking back, and Akashi smiled a little._

" _Of course. You are Midorima's teammate. We faced each other during the semifinals," Akashi replied, as if reminding him in case he had forgotten about it already._

" _Ahahaha! I know, it's just – never thought you'd bother remembering a nobody."_

" _You are not referring to yourself, are you?" Takao's eyes widened at the question. "Midorima trusts you – surely that's enough that you're not just a nobody to him."_

"Oi, Takao, how long are you going to continue doing that foolishness?"

"Eh?"

Midorima muttered under his breath. "Hiroko-sensei is looking at you right now. Pay attention to our lessons, _baka._ "

Shutoku's shooting guard watched his partner sit properly and turned his attention back on the board as he diligently took notes. He knows perfectly why the hawk-eyed boy was distracted – he was, too, just that he is doing a better job of hiding it. He sneaked a glance at the clear blue sky outside their classroom windows.

 _How are things going down there, I wonder?_

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 **** Wakayama, Japan ****

 **和歌山、日本**

Kise walked right behind Kasamatsu on their way to the locker rooms after the opening ceremonies to prepare for their first match at two in the afternoon. He looked around him, trying to look for familiar faces just for the heck of it. The reporters were done with their team, with Kise doing most of the talking since he was used to it, Kasamatsu giving a few statements once in a while since he is the captain, after all, but then, most of the questions were directed to Kise, being the popular model he is, and Kimiko was even brought up a couple of times during the interview. Apparently, some of the reporters had recognized her loitering around Wakayama with the Rakuzan team, and had asked Kise if she was a student there and if she was in a relationship with the flame-haired captain. Luckily, he didn't have to answer that as Genta intervened and pulled his team out of there, and Kise was grateful.

Seirin, Yosen, and Rakuzan were also hounded by reporters since they were the powerhouse teams, and with the Winter Cup just a month ago, there is the huge question of who will dominate this time around. Will Yosen make it to the Final Four? Will Seirin be able to pull off their miraculous stunt like they did during the last tournament? Will Rakuzan be taking their revenge right here in the Nationals?

Akashi answered the questions thrown at him by the pack of journalists that had crowded around his team. It seemed that Rakuzan had the greatest number of interviewers this time, possibly because of their shocking defeat in the winter games. Akashi didn't mind, though. Rakuzan will surely be the victor in this competition.

"We'll be having an early lunch. Our game is at one," Akashi informed them as they went out of the huge gymnasium, finally managing to shake the reporters away from them once they started asking about the chartreusette who'd been seen walking around with his team and turning them over to go and hound Seirin instead. The redhead did saw Kuroko give him a mildly annoyed look before the reporters blocked them from view.

Akashi was not feeling particularly sorry for what he did, though.

"Will Kimi-chan be joining us?" Mibuchi asked, having grown fond of the girl. He was even beginning to feel like she was already one of them.

"Akumi is already there. She took care of the reservations," their captain replied with a little smile. He was already aware of the magazine's release and had made arrangements for Kimiko to be guarded from afar so as to keep her safe from the paparazzi and any reporters that might try to get too close to her. Although he did not tell her about this, of course.

Lunch was held in a normal restaurant that was just within walking distance of the venue – not cheap but not snobbish either. Kimiko's hair was an excellent marker. They walked up to her and assumed their seating arrangement during breakfast. Kimiko called the waiter over with a graceful wave of her hand and they made their orders. While the boys selected from the restaurant's several varieties of chicken, pork, and beef _katsu_ , Kimiko settled for a _tempura udon_ , content on slurping down her noodles while her companions took in their much-needed protein.

They talked about the line-up for their first match, Akashi handed her a copy of the game schedule, and learned that he would not be playing – not until the quarterfinals anyway. Mayuzumi was in the same boat as him, while the _Mukan no Gosho_ will be sent by two's along with three of their bench players. Shirogane had faith in his players, and it was a good idea too. Not only will the bench players get additional experience, the main players themselves – Akashi, the three Uncrowned Generals, and their very own phantom - will be well-rested during the more challenging matches. Rakuzan is not taking any chances.

They finished lunch and headed back to the gymnasium, where they would wait in their assigned locker room for an hour and a half before the start of their match against Shinzaki High from Aiichi. Kaijou was having their own match against Nagano in another gym somewhere, Seirin will have theirs versus Yamagata at four, while Yosen will play a game with Nara at two o'clock in the same gym as Rakuzan's. Kimiko was with Alex somewhere in the gym, but she did say that she will be sitting on the side opposite their bench and joked about getting white-and-light blue pompoms. The Rakuzan members were amused, their coach and captain included.

Kimiko only smiled at them and told them to enjoy and play well. She did not wish them good luck. They don't need it, anyway.

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"Ne, Kuroko, how likely will that former coach of yours will help Rakuzan in their plays?" Riko asked out of the blue. They were waiting inside their designated locker room, and they will be facing a team from Yamagata later. From what they had seen from the videos, they pose no threat to Seirin.

The blue-haired boy looked slightly taken aback by the question. His expression didn't go unnoticed by his teammates, though, and it made them worry, even so when he finally spoke.

"Akumi-san will help Akashi-kun for certain," he said in his usual monotone, but he was definitely afraid when it happens. "Let's just hope that Akumi-san has not gotten her hands on our Winter Cup game videos..." He trailed off. This is Kimiko Akumi that they were talking about. Her loyalties were with Akashi, and they had been so welcoming when she watched them during their practices, had allowed her to observe them in and out of the court, had talked with her like she was a longtime friend…

His team seemed to have the same realization as they all muttered in horror.

"Oh, shit."

Not that they blame her, though. This is just like Momoi doing intel work for Touou, except this was Kimiko Akumi and they had no clue just how deadly a single piece of information can be in her hands. And it isn't that she only befriended them just to learn about them – their information was like an added bonus.

 _Oh, shit indeed._

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" _Achoo!_ "

"Someone's gossiping about you, it seems," Alex said as Kimiko wiped her nose with a piece of tissue. The two girls were down by the vending machines, getting snacks and drinks for the game later. Kise's team will be playing at the same time as Rakuzan, but the blond informed her earlier that he will not be stepping on the court just like Akashi, so Kimiko was not feeling guilty at having to choose on who to watch. Akashi won't be sent out, but Seirin and Yosen will be playing after them and it was more convenient to stay here. Besides, she had a promise to keep. The other Miracles will understand, of course.

"Where did you manage to get that, by the way?" Alex asked as they walked back to their seats, soft drinks and popcorn in hand. She was pointing at the enormous tufts of white and blue silk hanging from the chartreusette's wrists.

"I'm Rakuzan's self-appointed cheerleader," she replied with a wink. Alex laughed. They reached their seats just as the players of both teams were taking their place on their respective benches. She saw Hayama looking at her and she waved her pompoms high in the air, and soon, everyone on the team was looking at her.

Ruby eyes gave her a look that says, _Seriously?_

She flashed him a peace sign, and the corners of his lips curved upwards in an amused smirk.

Beside her, Alex's eyes shined with mischief. "Ne, Kimi-chan~ How long are you two gonna play the 'best friend' act?"

"Eh? What do you mean, Alex?"

The older woman sighed. "C'mon, you can tell me… Have you two even kissed yet?" she joked, only for the girl to blush beet-red. Alex covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my, you did? When? Why? How? Does this mean you are secretly together?" Alex may be thirty-one, but she can appreciate a handsome man, and the crimson-haired Akashi Seijuurou was on top of her list. Cool, handsome, polite, and filthy rich to boot. _Now, if only he was blessed with a bit more height… Well, his dominant aura makes up for it…_

She glanced at her flustered companion. The moment she saw the two at the station in Shin-Osaka, Alex knew right away that there was something going on between them. She thought of Himuro, her other apprentice, and thought, _You're not going to win this one, Tatsuya. Especially not this one._

Kimiko pinched the bridge of her nose as she composed herself. Laughing awkwardly, she said, "Alex, slow down, sheesh..." _Seriously, this woman..._

"Kimi-chan, come on, spill! Tatsuya told me some things about you, and you've been surrounded by six cute guys that kick ass in basketball! Of course, you'd end up with one of them – God, the temptation! How did you manage to resist jumping them?"

This time, Kimiko laughed for real. Alex was sounding like a fan girl. And yes, for three years, she had been with six of the most talented basketball players and she can _somehow_ relate to whatever nonsense Alex was spouting about.

 _Not that she did want to jump them, though._

Alex leaned and whispered conspiratorially in her ear. "Say, Kimi-chan, have you seen them naked in the locker rooms?"

Kimiko rolled her eyes and began to say, "Of co– ALEX!" She exclaimed in a chiding manner upon seeing the suggestive look that Alex was giving her. Her blush returned full force, and she had to fan herself with her hand to avoid hyperventilating.

"You're one naughty coach, Kimi-chan~"

"I'm not!" she hissed.

"But you said–"

She covered her face with her hands. "I didn't mean fully-naked! Of course they had their pants or shorts on!"

"Sure, sure. So who is the sexiest of them all?"

"I don't ogle my players!"

"No one's going to tell them…" Alex reasoned. "Is it the model? Your ace? Or perhaps," Alex's emerald eyes strayed to where Akashi was, "the captain, hmm?"

"UGH! I'm sooo not having this conversation!"

Alex giggled. _So cute._ She was not sure if the girl was aware that Akashi had been looking at them from time to time. "When did the kiss happen, then? And who initiated it?"

It could be because her brain has short-circuited from their previous topic, because Kimiko answered, "Last Wednesday. He suddenly appeared in my apartment and kissed me bec– _Why am I even telling you all this_?"

Alex, however, ignored her outburst. "Because?"

Kimiko sighed. It was clear that Alex would not let this go, so might as well tell her. Besides, she's probably the closest Kimiko had as a girlfriend, aside from Momoi, someone who she can talk to about matters like this… Thinking that, Kimiko resigned herself to fate.

She ended up narrating the events that happened since that _eventful_ Wednesday night, and Alex listened in all seriousness. She even gave Alex a background on their relationship in Teikou up to the end before she went to France. She didn't go much into the details on her parting with Akashi, though; she just said that they had a huge argument and that's that. When she finished, Alex was silent as she pondered on what she had just learned.

"...You said he hadn't mentioned the kiss up until now?"

Kimiko nodded, and what amazed Alex was that the girl wasn't a bit sad about the whole thing. More like, she was understanding and accepting of how things will turn out after that.

 _So, you'll support and just go along with whatever HE chooses to do._ That was all well and good, unfortunately, Alex totally disagreed on how the boy was handling the situation. From what she had gathered, the two of them was in love with each other for a long time now but had restricted themselves under the rules of friendship, and then something happens and Akashi kisses Kimiko and then leaves her hanging. He felt jealous over the blond model and cannot help but stake his claim over the girl. So he kisses her. Kimiko must have at some point wondered what that kiss meant and what will it mean for their relationship, but when he failed to brought it up for days, perhaps Kimiko took it as a spur-of-the-moment thing on his side, but that's where Kimiko was wrong. Alex knew better – has the girl no romantic experience or even thought about romance at all? Seeing her waving her pompoms again as Rakuzan's shooting guard just landed a smooth three-pointer, the blond woman shook her head. _The girl was too busy making training menus and constructing plays and recording her team's stats to be bothered by thinking about love and romance._

Akashi was looking at Kimiko again.

"What a troublesome pair," she muttered.

During halftime, when they went to get more drinks, they bumped into Rakuzan on their way to the locker room. Alex cannot help herself from smiling when Kimiko ran up to Akashi and pressed a plastic bag full of drinks for his team. She gave him a quick smile, no words exchanged but a silent conversation with their eyes before heading their own way. Alex was starting to think that she was the one who will die from all the tension. How long were they planning to keep on dancing around each other?

"Kimi-chan, if you were to decide, what would you want him to do – keep silent and remain friends, or confront you about it and take your relationship to the next level?"

A soft smile played on the chartreusette's lips, pensive but resigned. "You know, Alex," Kimiko said in a tone that the blond had never heard her use before – all mild and calm like an angel, "I thought about that the day he took me to visit his mother. I told Shiori-san that I just want to take care of Seijuurou as long as he allows me to, whether as a friend or something more, I don't really care, as long as I am with him, fine by me. Seijuurou made me promise never to leave him, so I guess I will be sticking myself to him until he doesn't need me anymore, which I hope will never happen. Seijuurou is strong, but he's still human and needs a resting place, which is me." She sighed. "Although it's not bad to hope that he might choose the latter option, I have to be realistic enough to know that it will never be that simple." She paused. "Nothing about him is simple, to be honest."

That caught the American's attention. "What do you mean?"

"The name 'Akashi' does not ring a bell to you, Alex?"

"Of course, it does," Alex answered. "They are even pretty known in the States!"

"As expected of them," Kimiko said.

"I don't see the problem, though," Alex told her.

"Ah," the younger girl nodded thoughtfully. "Seijuurou comes from a _meika_ , a distinguished family for all the right reasons. Similar to how the great clans operate from long ago, families like the Akashi do not take love lightly – that's how the wealthy people function anyway. When a member of the family 'falls in love'–" Kimiko made air quotes to emphasize the words, "–there are certain standards to be met before they approve of the relationship. The partner must be equal or better than the other, simply put, they must share the same social circle and whatnot because they have a reputation to maintain. It would be bad if the heir was associated with a nobody… The family will surely disapprove, and even if they did love each other, they will be forcefully separated or the family member will risk getting disowned or something like that." She looked down at her hands and almost whispered as if to herself, "It's not that simple."

Something about the girl's explanation made it seem to Alex that she was talking about firsthand experience. However, she decided not to ask. Kimiko looked depressed enough but sadly, her words were true. Akashi was an heir, which means that he was bound by even stricter rules, and unless Kimiko turns out to be a long-lost heiress or something, the chances of them getting together seems impossible, unless for some miraculous twist of fate, the boy's family will approve of her. They may like her as a person (hell, she might be able to charm the Devil himself!) but it will be all over if her social standing was brought up to scrutiny.

In the end, it seems like the choice was not up to them.

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The game between Rakuzan and Shinzaki was a walk in the park for the Kyoto tyrants. Akashi made it as a testing ground for his new plays, all of which turned out well as expected. Kimiko kept up with her self-appointed job and waved her pompoms whenever Rakuzan makes a basket, which was most of the time. The score was disappointing – 104-56, and that was only with one Uncrowned General at a given quarter.

Since he was guiding his team from the bench, Akashi had plenty of time to think, specifically with his interactions with her last night. It was so unfortunate that Mibuchi had interrupted them that time, then they could already have laid this matter to rest. He had been gauging her reactions and answers to see if she was fine with taking their relationship to the next level, and though she was much more insightful on the matters of the heart, it was no denying that both of them were not familiar with this concept called 'love' and thus their hesitancy to step in it. For a long time, they had been careful, but as time passed, they had grown comfortable with each other and had relaxed their guards, not noticing when they had reached the fine line separating friendship from romantic love. Still, they managed to walk the line without falling, until Kise and his stupid idea of getting Kimiko to model with him shook their balance. He had been the first to fall, though, and of course, he took her down with him instead of allowing her to help him regain his footing. They were hanging barely by the tips of her fingers – it's just a matter of time before gravity will pull them down.

The question is: Will he let them fall or will they get back on the rope?

He gazed at Kimiko up there with the crowd. What will she choose?

Because if one was to ask him, he'd rather let them fall.

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	32. 第32章

**Author's Note:** Edited the confession part. I don't know if you would prefer the original one, though...

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **32** **章**

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— **月** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **8** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Wakayama, Japan ****

 **和歌山** **、** **日本**

Kimiko is quite a patient person; she did manage to get along with all five members of the _Kiseki no Sedai_ plus the phantom sixth man and one pink-haired manager after all. She had the patience to deal with each and every of their antics whenever the mood strikes them – had she not, then all of them, particularly one clingy blond and one lazy ace would have been long dead by now.

Yes, she is a patient person alright, because she believes in that saying that good things come to those who wait, and more often than not, the saying rings true. However, shooting another dark glare at the digital clock on the bedside table, it was safe to say that her patience had already reached its limit.

"Damn it! Just where the hell did his father ordered him to go this time?!"

Akashi had been unable to join them for dinner because he had to attend a gala that was held in another hotel not far from the Vermilion, where the Rakuzan team is staying. He had left immediately after their match, as he had to meet someone else before the gala itself, and Kimiko had watched Yosen and Kaijou's matches beside Alex, who was actually a good companion when watching basketball games as they had a good time talking about the game and the players. The blond American had told her a little about Himuro's childhood in America; the part when Kagami and he raided an old storehouse full of basketballs made her laugh. In all his seriousness, she had thought Himuro to be above doing such things, but then he had been a child, and he had Kagami to force him to do such silly things.

She flopped tiredly on her bed and stared at the immaculate white ceiling, and without meaning to, her thoughts turned to her conversation with Alex regarding her relationship with Akashi. With trembling fingers, she touched her lips – lips that he had kissed without permission or explanation.

 _Maybe I was overthinking things,_ she thought dispassionately. Perhaps the only way to make sense of the situation was to look at it objectively, without the bias of what she wanted, or what _Akashi_ wanted, for that matter. The thought made her pause. _What do_ I _want?_

Her mind drew up a blank.

 _Nah, I'll get to the subjective part later. For now, let's be realistic._

As she had established early, Akashi had kissed her in a fit of jealousy, and as she remembered, he had been overridden by his other persona, the Emperor, who was absolutely possessive of her back in Teikou. However, she was sure that it was Akashi himself and not the Emperor who initiated the kiss between them. So what does that mean for their friendship?

 _Ugh._ Kimiko felt like pulling her hair. Why the need to put a label on their relationship anyway? They never had a need for it back in middle school; what the other people think of them never mattered, so why start now? If they see them as friends, then fine. If they thought of them as lovers, then all the more to share those laughing stares with the redhead when no one was looking. For some reason, Akashi develops an air of pride and satisfaction whenever that happens, and while he does not do or say anything to confirm it, he does not deny it either. Kimiko ignores it whenever he does that – she knows how Akashi liked to mess with other people's minds just for the heck of it – but there are times when she wonders if that's all there is to it.

And there was the possessiveness and protectiveness over her. The whole team did that – even Haizaki did, in his own way – but with Akashi, it was on another level. Kimiko thought it unnecessary; she was ranked in _aikido_ and she knows a bit of _jiujitsu_ as well.

But she was getting off topic, she realized with a shake of her head. Rolling onto her stomach, she fixed her eyes on the embroidered hem of her pillowcase. Flicking her nail on the golden threads, she resumed her thoughts.

She had proven – demonstrated – on several occasions that she is fully capable of defending herself; however, the boys just wouldn't let her. Anyone who wanted to talk to her had to pass through them, and Aomine was more than enough to discourage the braver ones who managed to pass through Murasakibara. Which, unfortunately, do not matter, because the one waiting for them at the end was the flame-haired captain himself, and even when his eyes were still matching rubies, it didn't made him less intimidating. It was cute, sweet even, but at times, it was plain frustrating, especially when it include innocents among their casualties.

Kimiko had never thought of Akashi as perfect; everyone has their own flaws and insecurities, no matter how hard they may try to hide them. Not that Akashi did. As a child, he was raised to believe that imperfection had no place in his world; mistakes, defeats, weaknesses, these ideas do not exist – only perfection and victory and absolute power above all else. It is what ultimately led him to become the fragmented person he is now, and no matter what he does, his dominating aura never fails to make itself felt and known by everyone around him, establishing his rank unconsciously, as naturally as breathing. No one would suspect of him as broken but Kimiko knew better. Behind all the grandeur that came with being the Akashi heir was a lonely child, scared and confused at the loss of his beloved mother. It was the same reason why he awakened the Emperor Eye, why he asked her to swear that promise of a lifetime to him, why he was hesitant to reach out to other people.

Akashi Seijuurou is afraid of being left behind.

The passing of his mother traumatized him as a young boy, and his father had been too busy with work or with his own grief, perhaps, to see it. Akashi was left to deal with his own sorrow, inexperienced as he is, not allowed to feel it fully because it goes against the one belief that had been drilled to his head the moment he was born.

An Akashi does not accept defeat.

Kimiko can almost imagine him, in all his wide-eyed innocence, as he stares at the picture of his mother on the _butsudan_ , wondering if that includes nature and the cycle of life and death itself.

She blinked back the tears, startled at her reaction. She almost laughed at herself, but the sudden opening of the door had her rolling out of bed and on her feet as she opened her mouth to greet the latecomer, only to stop when she saw the raging fury in his eyes.

Lips set in a straight line, face totally devoid of expression, eyes hard and cold, a deadly killing intent emanating from his person, Akashi stalked into the room, slamming the door behind him. Ignoring the chartreusette, he yanked at his tie violently as if they were choking him. Reaching the coffee table, he all but hurled the folders on its glass surface, not caring if the glass breaks or not. Some of the papers flew out of the bindings, falling all over the floor like feathers.

"Seijuurou."

At the sound of her voice, calm and unaffected, made him froze unexpectedly. In his rage, he had forgotten all about her.

 _Akumi._

 _Why is she still awake?_ He found himself wondering. _Does it matter?_

"Seijuurou."

 _ **Of course, it matters. And from the noise you've made, it's better that she was awake rather than being shocked to consciousness by your tantrum**_ _._

He did not know when she reached his side as her slim fingers wrapped around his wrist firmly but gently, and at her touch, his anger drained away almost instantly, replaced by weariness that reached bone-deep.

Her heart went out to him.

She released his wrist, only to move in front of him to remove the tie that was hanging around his neck in disarray. Behind his crimson fringe, Akashi observed her as she worked on the knot. Dropping it on the table, she reached up to remove his suit when his head dropped on her shoulder heavily, causing her to falteringly take a step back only to have his arms wrap around her waist. For a moment Akashi thought that she was going to push him away. It was a loose embrace, like Akashi doesn't have the energy to do it, but it served its purpose – Kimiko remained in place, her own arms falling lightly on his shoulders once she overcame her initial shock. They remained in that position for a while, silent and unmoving, until she pulled back one of her arms to touch him lightly on the cheek, her fingers cold against his skin, her worried eyes meeting his tired ones.

Akashi sighed, shaky with exhaustion. Had his father seen him like this, he would have gotten a lecture on what it means to be an Akashi, to not to depend on others because dependence is a weakness, that exposing himself in such a moment of vulnerability is unsightly and unacceptable, and more of this and that, but none of this came into his mind as he held her there. In that moment, only she existed and nothing else. Only Kimiko.

"Do you want me to get you something to drink? Tea?" she asked quietly.

His breath was warm on her bare skin as he spoke. "Please."

She nodded once, and reluctantly, he released her so that she can contact room service. He sat on the couch, head leaning on the backrest, eyes closed as he took deep, calming breaths. Being upset will not do him any good, especially after what he had learned earlier, the gala only serving to fan the flames of his wrath further.

His father had his sights already set on Kimiko. It was an unfortunate stroke of coincidence that the Akashi Corporation was planning to strengthen and widen their influence in the fashion industry, for the sole reason of wanting to monopolize all of Japan, power-hungry as his father is. Kimiko will be a valuable asset in this venture, his father had decided, and he was never wrong in his decisions. Akashi will not deny that – Akashi Masaomi was a brilliant man as long as business, money, and power is involved. He had inherited it, after all. It's just too bad that his father had included the chartreusette in his plans, and knowing the Akashi head, he won't be willing to accept her "No" for an answer. Kimiko is stubborn when forced to do something, but Akashi would rather not pit her against his father to see if she can hold against his father's manipulative words.

Or threats.

Absorbed in his thoughts, he did not sense when their tea arrived until Kimiko brought it over to the coffee table. Pushing the folders away, she set the tray on the table and poured him a cup of chamomile tea to soothe his nerves. Kimiko was not surprised at his earlier outburst for she had seen it several times before. Whatever it was that upset him, he will tell her sooner or later; all she had to do was wait. What's important is that he had calmed down. A little.

 _I can't let him have her,_ Akashi swore to himself with renewed vengeance.

 _ **We won't**_ _,_ came the Emperor's assurance, and for a moment, Akashi was relieved to have him.

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As he sipped on his tea, Kimiko was picking up the papers that he had strewn all over the floor of their room despite him telling her that he should be the one to clean them up as he was the one who caused the mess. Of course, she only raised an eyebrow at him and did as she pleased, knowing that he's too drained to argue with her on such a trivial matter.

Sorting the papers carefully, she frowned at the amount of work that needs to be done. At best, it would take them less than three hours, but it's already nearing eleven o'clock. Surely he did not intend to do them right now?

Akashi reached for the topmost folder.

Her face fell.

Of course he will do it _right now_. His bastard of a father had probably given him a deadline in the morning, as usual.

"Maybe you should change your clothes first, Seijuurou. I'll make a head start on the meeting reports so that you don't have to waste as much time on reading the useless stuff."

His eyes were slightly unfocused as he turned to her. "You should go to sleep, Akumi. It's late."

"Yeah, says the one who was planning to pull an all-nighter with a pile of papers," she retorted with a roll of her eyes. "Or are you saying that you prefer their company over mine?"

"That's not what I –"

"I know. Sheesh, you lose your sense of humor when you're tired. Go on." She waved a hand at him in a dismissing manner. "Take a shower and refresh yourself. You look ready to fall over."

He sighed in resignation. As he stood to leave, he paused and looked at the girl who had stayed up just to wait for his return. It was a novel experience to one who was used to be greeted by the emptiness of the grand Akashi manor.

"Akumi." She looked up and met his gaze. " _Arigatou._ "

She smiled then, and Akashi had a passing thought that he would do anything to keep that smile for himself. No matter what it takes.

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When he emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later, the first thing he noticed was the smell of coffee. In his absence, Kimiko had acquired a cup of macchiato and a new pot of hot tea alongside a mountain of chocolate chip cookies on a large porcelain plate. She had abandoned the couch for the carpeted floor where she had spread one of the spare blankets. She lay on her stomach, elbows resting on a throw pillow she had taken from the couch, a borrowed laptop in front of her as she typed quickly, eyes straying every now and then on the open folder on her right. Chopin's _Spring Waltz_ was playing in the background.

Just like how they used to do it back in middle school.

At his entrance, she looked up and grinned a Cheshire-cat smile at his appraisal. Waving a hand holding a cookie at him, she said, "Hope you don't mind," as she gestured at her surroundings.

His lips quirked in a smile as he retrieved his personal laptop and settled beside her, mirroring her position. He began reading the thick file of a business contract, looking for possible loopholes and errors, making the necessary annotations in pencil and putting in his corrected version on the proposal's soft copy on his laptop.

Kimiko made short work on the meeting reports, wondering all the while why no one bothered to summarize them before handing them over to Akashi. It was like they were intentionally making Akashi's work more difficult than it already is. Looking at her handiwork, all in bulleted form with each point made concise as possible and arranged thematically in order of importance, it would only take a few minutes to go through the whole compilation, saving precious minutes that can be used in dealing with more problematic things, like the business contract that Akashi was perusing at the moment.

As she gulped some of her heavenly macchiato, she cannot help stealing a glance at her companion. His eyes were narrowed behind his reading glasses in concentration, tightening at the edges whenever he finds an error. He must have sensed her stare because he turned to her with a questioning gaze.

"Nothing," she amended gracefully, hoping that he didn't notice the blush on her cheeks. It had been some time since she saw him wearing those glasses and it never failed to make her want to squeal or something.

 _For Kami's sake,_ she grumbled inwardly as she once again focused on her job. _I am not fangirling over Seijuurou. Nope._

Akashi stared at her for a moment and hummed. "Hm."

As she was tackling the budget summaries, she couldn't help but roll over on her back at some point with a huff. Staring at the figures, graphs and tables made her head spin.

"I hate numbers," she muttered out loud, eliciting a chuckle from the redhead who was well aware of her aversion on the matter. She and Midorima had always contended for the second place in Math exams in middle school, which she always won due to Akashi's persistence on teaching her.

Resuming her position in front of the laptop, she grabbed a cookie and munched on it viciously. "Remind me not to take Business Administration in college."

"Then what will you be taking?" Akashi asked, curious.

She scratched the tip of her nose lightly. "Law, perhaps?" she finally said, though it seems that she was still unsure. "I haven't thought much about it, to be honest."

He nodded, as if to himself. "You'll make a good lawyer."

Kimiko turned to him with wide eyes. "You think?"

"I _know_ ," he corrected her with a smirk, making her laugh as they returned to work once again.

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Akashi clenched his teeth as he tried hard not to yawn. It had taken him almost two hours to finish reading the complicated and roundabout legal language of the contract, after which he had gone through the summarized version of the meeting reports courtesy of Kimiko, before helping her with the budget summaries. All that's left was the small pile of documents that needed his signature and they will be free to go to sleep.

But damn, he's tired.

He almost signed in the wrong place twice, and his eyes are already rebelling against him. He set the pen down and pinched the bridge of his nose, taking off his glasses in the process.

"Akumi, let's go to our beds. I'll sign the rest later during breakfast."

Kimiko did not reply.

"Akumi, we –"

And then he stopped.

Because beside him, lying on the blanket-covered floor with her head on a throw pillow, was a sleeping Kimiko, her hair splayed all over her face in a tangled mess.

Against his better judgment, he shook her shoulder lightly to wake her up.

"Hmmm..." she moaned lightly at the disturbance. Her eyes, dark and hazy with sleep, fluttered open from beneath her chartreuse locks. "What?" she mumbled drowsily, still half-asleep.

"Let's go to our beds," he repeated firmly. However, the girl was too far gone to care where she sleeps as long as she can get a shut-eye.

"Too tired..." she grumbled, swatting halfheartedly at Akashi's hand on her shoulder.

"I'll carry you," Akashi offered. He is exhausted as well, but the bed is more comfortable than the floor, carpeted or not.

"Tch. You're noisy," Kimiko complained. "Sleep already…"

"But Akumi –"

She glared at him then, and before he could do anything, Kimiko tackled him down in a sort of a half-hug, sprawled out on the floor surrounded by piles of paper. With her face buried in his chest, she murmured in contentment, "Hmmm… Peace and quiet..." She moved so that she was no longer on top of him, allowing Akashi to adjust to a more comfortable position. "Night," and she fell back to sleep, unaware of the compromising position she had put them in.

As she snuggled closer, Akashi can only sigh before wrapping an arm around her waist and drifting off to sleep, but not before pressing a kiss on the top of her head and whispering a "Good night, Akumi" to her unhearing ears.

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— **火** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **9** **日** **)** **—**

Kimiko was absolutely confused when she woke up that morning. For some reason, her pillow was oddly shaped and smelled a lot like a certain ruby-eyed captain. She took a deep breath, allowing the masculine scent to invade her _senses. Damn. Why does he have to smell so good?_

And something heavy was draped around her waist.

Finally mustering the energy to crack her eyes open, only to widen in shock when she was met by the sight before her.

Apparently, her _pillow_ was not a pillow at all – no, it was Akashi Seijuurou himself, despite being unconscious at the moment.

And they were _cuddling._

A muffled yelp escaped her lips before she could stop it.

Akashi had always been a light sleeper, so it was no surprise when his eyes opened to look at her. Had she been not as surprised as she is, she would have laughed at the similar look in his eyes upon realizing their current position – his head in her hair, her hands on his chest, his arm over her waist, legs entwined together.

Faster than a blink of an eye, Kimiko rolled away and sat up, all trace of sleep gone from her. Her long hair was all over her face, and the sound of Akashi's chuckle, she pouted and huffed at the stray lock of hair that had gotten in her line of sight.

" _Ohayou_ ," Akashi said, propping himself on his elbows as he looked at her in amusement. He had a good sleep even if it was just a short five hours, but he was oddly feeling well-rested and refreshed.

"Hmp. Good morning to you, too," Kimiko mumbled, combing her hair with her fingers. The initial shock was gone now and she yawned, a hand raised to cover her mouth. Akashi had finally sat up as well and began to clear away the papers while she took care of the cups and plates.

She showered first, leaving Akashi to sign the rest of the documents before contacting one of his father's valets to pick them up from his room at eight after eating breakfast with his team. He was in the middle of packing his bag when Kimiko's phone rang, which made him frown.

 _What's with the too early phone calls?_ he thought, remembering the time when Alex called on a Sunday. He could have ignored it, but something made him go over to check on the caller.

He instantly regretted his decision.

 _ **Incoming Call: Himuro Tatsuya**_

 _Should I answer it?_

As he debated whether or not to pick it up, Kimiko emerged from the bathroom, her hair all wrapped up in a towel. Seeing Akashi standing by her bed, staring at her phone, she asked, "Who is it?" as she made her way over to him.

Akashi didn't answer, but turned and walked away to take his turn in the bath while Kimiko stared at him in confusion. Brushing off his behavior due to exhaustion, the girl shrugged and sat on the edge of her bed.

"Ohayō!" she chirped in greeting, phone held to her ear.

There was a soft chuckle on the other end. " **Good morning, Kimiko. You up already or did I disturb you?** "

"Nope, been awake for quite a while now. So, what's up?"

" **Can I ask you out for dinner tonight? I know of a nice Italian restaurant downtown...** "

"Sure!" she answered without a second thought. Himuro was a nice person, and she was yet to see him and Murasakibara. Speaking of which, "Will Atsushi be there?"

There was a pause before Himuro replied with some hesitation. " **It will be just the two of us… Will that be alright with you?** "

"Nah, it's fine – just wondering, s'all. I mean, I survived a day with you before, remember?"

" **I can bring him tonight, if you want...** " he offered.

Kimiko snorted. "I told you, I was just asking… I'll meet up with Atsushi on Wednesday – some kind of reunion with our middle school coach."

" **...Oh, I see. Then, what time should I pick you up?** "

She pursed her lips. "Why don't we just meet at the restaurant?"

" **Allow me to play the gentleman, okay?** " Himuro said, and they both laughed at the inner joke. " **Six pm good enough?** "

"Okay. We're staying at the Vermilion, in case you don't know yet, which I'm pretty sure you don't, unless Atsushi told you. Anyway, just call me when you're at the lobby."

" **Hm. Got it. See you later, then?** "

"Aa. Later."

Kimiko had just ended the call when Akashi finished his morning preparations. His pointed look was pretty much asking her about the call.

"It's Tatsuya, as you've already found out. He asked me out for dinner."

 _...He what?_

 _ **I believe the Cyclops had just asked her out on a date**_ _,_ the Emperor chimed helpfully. Lately, Akashi was finding out that his other self was getting more sarcastic to the point of vindictiveness.

His eyes suddenly narrowed into dangerous slits. There goes his beautiful morning. "And you accepted," he spat before he could stop himself.

Clearly, Kimiko was not amused. She leveled her gaze on him. "Yes, I did, and I don't see the harm in doing so."

"When and where."

Knowing better than to deny him the answers, she sigh, dragging a comb over her hair. "Six, downtown," she replied just as curtly. To her relief, Akashi didn't say anymore than that, but as they went out to join the team for breakfast, it was evident that they won't be speaking to one another for a while for fear that they might say something they'll regret later. It's nothing new, though; between Kimiko's stubbornness and Akashi's authority, they were always bound to disagree on things – it's just a matter of who will come to their senses first. Pride sometimes gets in the way, but that's normal, given their personalities. However, this was slightly different from their usual fights, which revolves on training menus, player dispositions, food, academics…

This one is more personal, and has to be dealt with a bit more finesse instead of yelling at each other to make the other see logic.

That's why Kimiko and Akashi are dutifully keeping their tongues in check, and thankfully, no one made a comment, though Shirogane was obviously wondering what had gotten into the two of them.

It's going to be a long day.

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"Yo," Kimiko greeted lifelessly as she plopped herself on the seat between Kuroko and Kagami. Seirin's game against Fukouka had been pretty uneventful, so was Rakuzan's versus Osaka. It was currently Murasakibara and his team playing down there, and to everyone's surprise, Kimiko had joined Seirin instead of Rakuzan as they watched Yosen trounce Shiga on the court. Kuroko was quick to catch on the chartreusette's somber mood, and seeing how she was distancing herself from a certain redhead, he was sure that they were currently having a cold war, which disturbed him greatly because they only do this when their argument is on a more serious note.

Kuroko watched as Kimiko slurped her shake with vengeance. Even Kagami was now looking at her skeptically.

"What?" she asked the two boys on either side of her, ignoring the death glare that Akashi was giving her from behind them.

"Akumi-san, what did Akashi-kun do this time?"

"You make it sound like he's a naughty preschooler," the girl commented dryly.

"Who knows if Akashi-kun has a side like that?" Kuroko deadpans, immensely pleased when a faint smile appears on her face – the first one since she sat down beside them.

"What do you mean, Kuroko?" Kagami asks in a slightly horrified voice. "I thought there's only two!"

"Baka," Kimiko smacked him upside the head.

"You have an argument with him?" Kuroko pressed, and after a moment's hesitation, Kimiko nodded at him grumpily.

"Do you mind if I ask what is it about?"

Kimiko snorted and grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bucket that she had Kagami hold for her. "Tatsuya asked me out for dinner. I accepted. Seijuurou did not approve."

Kagami was surprised. "Tatsuya did that?!"

"I seem to remember you and Alex tailing us when we went out for lunch weeks ago."

The taller redhead raised his hands in surrender, almost spilling the popcorn all over his lap. "It was Alex's idea!"

"Obviously," Kimiko smirked. "You didn't do a good job, either. I mean, what self-respecting basketball player would try to hide behind a pole as thick as my arm?"

On her other side, Kuroko coughed behind his hand.

"Alex was dragging me around, damn it!" He glared at Kuroko. "Stop laughing!"

Meanwhile, as the trio bickered and teased one another, Akashi was seething as he watched them a few rows behind. Mibuchi and Mayuzumi, who was seated on either side of him, was internally worrying about his the current state of their captain's mood. Kimiko had been unusually distant today – she did watch their match, but other than that, she was nowhere near Rakuzan. She had lunch with Kaijou earlier, and now she was sitting with Seirin.

And Akashi was fuming mad.

 _What happened?_ Mibuchi thought. The past two days with the golden-eyed girl had been great, but now this happens?

"Ne, Reo-nee, Yosen's shooting guard is pretty good," Hayama suddenly comments beside him, disrupting his thinking. On the court, Himuro was somewhat toying with his defender before making his signature shot and looking at Kimiko's direction. Before Mibuchi could say something though, Akashi clicks his tongue in irritation, glaring down at the court as his mood worsened even more.

 _Does he thinks that he can impress Akumi with such mediocre skills?_

Mibuchi turns to him instead. "Is something wrong, Sei-chan?"

"Hn."

At Akashi's monosyllabic answer (if one can even consider it as one), Mibuchi frowned. This was serious; whatever it is that reduced the usually eloquent Akashi to a grunting grouch is bound to be something major.

And Mibuchi is determined to find that out.

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Once again, Akashi took his leave to attend to company duties, and Rakuzan had to eat dinner without him again. When Mibuchi knocked on their door, he was greeted by the chartreusette who was dressed up for dinner outside.

"You're meeting with Sei-chan?" Mibuchi inquires, not quite disguising the thrill in his voice.

"Iie." Kimiko finished donning her coat and went past him, closing the room behind her. "Please tell Eiji-san I won't be joining you tonight. I'll be –" Her phone went off, and she answered it immediately with a little smile. "Tatsuya! Yes, I'm on my way to the lobby!" She turned to a confused Mibuchi and waved at him goodbye. "Gotta go. Bye!"

Mibuchi stood rooted to the spot as she practically ran to the elevator, lost in her conversation with the person on the other end of the line. _Tatsuya? Or was it Tetsuya?_

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Akashi was waiting for Himuro the moment he entered the huge glass doors of the Vermilion – as in literally. If not for Akashi's bright red hair, he would have bumped right into him but thanks to his reflexes, he was able to check himself, almost tripping on his own feet as he did so, while Akashi just stood there unflinching, his gaze boring into hers.

 _So he knows about my invitation to Kimiko._ And judging from his demeanor towards him, he can say that Akashi is _not pleased._

The question is: What will Akashi do about it?

The killing intent emanating from the redhead is almost palpable at their proximity, but Himuro refused to back down, somehow finding the strength to meet Akashi's gaze head on, his steel gray eyes clashing with burning crimson and liquid gold.

Inside him, the Emperor was asking to be unleashed at this insolent fool who was trying to take what was his. The idea appealed to Akashi, but he would not lower himself into a barbarian by getting physical with Yosen's shooting guard. He was a man of manners and social grace and etiquette and social propriety, after all. Besides, Kimiko will be displeased, and Akashi doesn't want that.

He's just here to give a useful advice. Not a warning, and most certainly not a threat.

An advice.

Kimiko calls it "peaceful threatening."

Therefore, Akashi will keep this talk short _and_ peaceful, to keep up with the chartreusette's standards.

Himuro, on the other hand, was starting to get impatient. From what little he had gathered about the redhead, he knew that Akashi has a reason for everything he does. His actions right now means something, and Himuro was itching to find that out. However, Akashi had been looking at him for some time now, and intimidation never sat well with Himuro – never had and it never will – so instead of letting Akashi to speak first, Himuro beat him to it.

"I am here for Kimiko," he said evenly. Despite being taller, Himuro felt like he was the one being stared down by Akashi, a feeling he never experienced in all his run-ins with gangsters in Las Vegas.

Until he met Akashi Seijuurou.

The redhead was silent, arms relaxed at the sides, completely unlike Himuro's tense and guarded posture, as if he was expecting an attack from Akashi.

"I know," Akashi spoke at last.

Himuro almost glared at that. "Then why are you here?"

"Hm." Akashi dismissed his question easily and gave him a look that says, _Why shouldn't I be here?_

He smirked as he sensed Himuro's irritation.

Akashi crossed his arms and walked closer to Himuro like a lion stalking his prey. While he applauded the man's courage, it was still foolish of him to _try to take her away from him._ While Himuro remained rooted to his spot, there was the shadow of fear in his lone visible eye, and his desire for Kimiko was the only thing that kept him from stepping back, but just barely.

The Emperor in him scoffed derisively. _**Such utter foolishness.**_

"I don't have to explain myself to you," Akashi said calmly. "However, I can see that you are not going to leave, and I would not want to see _Akumi_ disappointed by your sudden disappearance," he continued, emphasizing her name specifically. "I just need to see who she was going with tonight," he added coolly.

"Sizing up your rivals?" Himuro asked just as politely, but the look in his eye was nothing but.

Akashi paused and let out a short chuckle of amusement, lifting the back of his left hand to cover his lips. The action startled and angered the raven-head before him.

"Do you find something amusing, Akashi?" Himuro asked. Because he's definitely _not_ amused.

Akashi raised his eyes to him, all amusement wiped out from his face. "Do not flatter yourself. Both Kise and you seem to think so highly of yourselves. Akumi belongs with me. It does not matter what you do or say, but know this, and remember this well. At the end of the day, Akumi will be coming back to me – to my side where her rightful place is." He glanced at his watch, then to the elevator, making Himuro suspicious. "9PM, not a minute more. Akumi stayed up late last night, and she needs to rest. If she is in any way harmed or hurt, I will have your head."

Having said his piece, Akashi brushed past Himuro and out the door. Looking at the a man in a dark suit who was holding the limousine door for him, he said in a low commanding voice, "Follow them and make sure of her safety."

The man bowed. "Hai, young master," he answered and walked off to do his bidding.

Inside the car, Akashi said curtly to his driver. "I'm done here. Let's go."

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The elevator doors opened the moment Akashi stepped outside. Himuro was shaken out from his daze when Kimiko ran out the door, her face apologetic.

"Sorry I took so long – the elevator suddenly stopped on the eight floor and refused to go down for some reason," she explained breathlessly. "I didn't mean to make you wait." She glanced at him and noticed that he was not really listening. "Tatsuya?"

Himuro blinked. _Damn. I spaced out._ He shook his head. "It's okay, Kimiko. I didn't wait that long." _Yes, because I had a talk with a certain redhead regarding you._ "It's not your fault the elevator got stuck." _Because I know who did it and why. And to say that he had it timed perfectly._ Akashi Seijuurou was really a fearsome opponent – and not just on the court. That level of precision and accuracy is not something to be taken lightly.

"Oh," Kimiko said.

Himuro smiled at her lightly and offered his arm to her. "So shall we?"

Kimiko looped her arm around him and beamed. "Let's go!"

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Arriving at their destination, Himuro made sure to exit first to open the door for Kimiko. She seemed satisfied with the restaurant he had chosen, if her small smile was anything to go by. The interior of the restaurant was lit up in a soft amber glow coming from the numerous lamps lined up along the walls. After giving his name to the floor manager who was standing by the door of the restaurant, Kimiko and Himuro were led across the room to a door in the back, which opened to a courtyard garden with a small fountain in the middle. Late winter-blooming flowers decorated the space, and the walls were painted with realistic murals of nature. There were about fifteen tables spaced far from each other for the privacy of the patrons, and like she saw earlier, there was also a stage where a grand piano was set. However, there seemed to be no one to play it, since only the string quartet was currently playing a piece that sounded familiar to her.

They were led to a corner table far from the occupied ones and Himuro helped Kimiko to her seat. The manager left them after informing them that their waiter will be with them shortly. When he was gone, Himuro smiled at Kimiko and said almost shyly, "I hope you like it."

Kimiko's golden eyes reflected the light of the candles' flame illuminating their table. "Are you kidding me?" She gestured around them. "You brought me to a garden dinner in candlelight… What's not to like?"

"Well," Himuro laughed sheepishly. "Do you like Italian food?" It was at that point that their waiter arrived with the menus, standing on one side to wait for them to make their order. As they looked at the wide variety of Italian food that the restaurant had to offer, Kimiko suddenly spoke from behind the menu that she was holding, her eyes on the artfully printed text on the brown stationery.

"It seems that you're in luck – Italian food is one of my favorites." It relieved Himuro greatly and he told her that, making the girl to laugh lightly.

After a few minutes, Kimiko turned to their waiter who nodded politely, pen and paper at the ready. He took her order first before Himuro and left them with another polite bow.

Kimiko reached for her glass of water and took a dainty sip while Himuro leaned back in his seat to look at her carefully. She was wearing a simple copper dress under her fur-lined coat and no scarf to hide the thin gold chain necklace hanging on her swan-like neck. Her long hair was curled at the ends, and she did not bother to put on make-up; with her fair complexion and coral lips, there was clearly no need.

"Tatsuya?"

Himuro's eyes snapped to focus and saw that Kimiko was looking at him with a curious tilt of her head. Realizing that she'd caught him staring, he cleared his throat and grabbed his glass of water to cover his nervousness. Setting it back on the table, he looked at the wall behind her and said, "The paintings are magnificent, don't you think?"

She blinked, then turned her head slightly to look behind her. "They look lifelike," she said, her sharp eyes taking in the way the artist portrayed the natural movement of the plant's leaves and flowers in accordance to the gentle spring breeze blowing across the painted meadow.

"You look beautiful tonight," Himuro said all of a sudden, and she faced him to give him a smile and a soft "Thank you." He had smiled back at her compliment, though he was inwardly disappointed at her reaction to his compliment.

Fortunately, their waiter had returned with their order, turning their attention to the plates of mouthwatering food being set in front of them. They had decided on pasta of their own choice, sharing on the signature pizza of the restaurant and _tiramisu_ cake for dessert. They had light conversation throughout the meal on harmless topics, and by the time they started dessert, five more customers had joined them in their side of the garden – a college couple, a married couple, and a lone middle-aged businessman. Kimiko didn't pay them any attention, and neither did Himuro.

After they finished their dessert and the waiter had cleared the plates off their table, Himuro and Kimiko sipped on the customary coffee as they listened to the music. Kimiko was softly humming along, while Himuro contented himself in listening and looking at the beautiful girl before him.

"It seems that you're familiar with the songs," Himuro said at some point, and Kimiko smiled at him.

"Well, Seijuurou was fond of classical music," she mused fondly, her eyes looking past him as she reminisced in the past. "After all that time we spent in each other's residences, I was bound to pick something up one way or another."

If he had known that her knowledge on the topic was all thanks to a certain redhead, then perhaps he should have kept his silence. But then, there was something different about Kimiko when she was talking about her past with the Rakuzan captain... the way her eyes lit up at the mere recollection...

"I see," was all he could say in return, taking another sip of his coffee which tasted even more bitter than before. Kimiko did not even notice.

The quartet was playing a waltz and most of the other patrons were standing up to dance. Thus, when he saw that she had finished drinking her coffee, he stood up, went to her side of the table and offered his hand out to her.

"May I?" he asked, glancing to the dance floor.

A small grimace crossed the chartreusette's lips as she stared at his hand and for a moment, Himuro almost panicked. But when she accepted it with a sigh, he calmed down a little.

"It's alright if you're not feeling up to it," he told her.

"After being forced to dance too many times, I can say that I've gotten used to this," Kimiko grumbled. She then looked at him with a cheeky grin. "Just don't blame me if I stepped on your toes, okay? I'm not exactly the most graceful dancer here, you know?"

Himuro can only chuckle as he led her to a spot near the fountain. As they positioned their arms, he said, "I don't believe you."

"Then ask Seijuurou, he'll know," Kimiko replied with a roll of her eyes. "I've stepped on his toes far too many times to count back when we were taught how to waltz in Teikou."

 _Again with the mentioning of the redhead,_ Himuro thought. It was kind of depressing when the redhead was occupying the chartreusette's thoughts even when it was him who was with her at the moment.

Perhaps the war was already won even before Himuro entered the picture.

As they swayed to the gentle music, with Kimiko not stepping on his toes even once, Himuro swore to himself that he won't be giving up on her.

Not yet.

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They danced for a couple of songs before Himuro called it a night. It was already 8:30 in the evening, and no, Himuro told himself, the reason why he was sending her back to the hotel half an hour early is not because of the redhead's threat but rather, it's due to the fact that he can't help but notice the girl's obvious exhaustion. He took a cab with her to the Vermilion and walked her to the front doors of the hotel after asking the cab driver to wait for him.

"The dinner was a wonderful one. Thank you, Tatsuya," Kimiko said, pausing at the entrance.

"It was my pleasure, Kimiko," Himuro said quietly as they stared at each other's eyes, his heartbeat loud in his ears. A wind blew then, sending a stray lock of her hair in her face, but when Himuro reached out to tuck it behind her ear, Kimiko took a step back reflexively, breaking their gaze and waking them out of their stupor. She blinked repeatedly as if to clear away her previous confusion while Himuro shook his head lightly to get it out of his system. An awkwardness befell the pair and it was Kimiko who spoke first.

"Have a good night, Tatsuya," she said quietly with a slight bow of her head.

"You, too, Kimiko," he replied after a moment's pause. "See you tomorrow."

"Aa." She gestured to the doors. "I'll be going inside now."

"Okay."

He waited until she had gone through the glass doors before heading back to the taxi with an apology for the driver for making him wait for too long. On the way back to his own hotel, Himuro thought about how she avoided his touch, and wondered if she did the same around Akashi.

Before he could even think of an answer to his own question, Himuro realized that he doesn't really want to know or even guess the answer to that.

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It was quarter past eight when Akashi finally returned to their hotel room from the gala that he had attended per his father's orders. Inside the limousine on the way back, he was welcomed by the folder that contains the next set of his father's instructions for him, and he cannot help but curse his father for being so inconsiderate - was giving him a week off from his duties too much to ask?

He entered the room quietly and turned on the lights, dimming them until they resemble the soft yellow glow of moonlight. It seemed that Kimiko was still out with the mirage shooter. Akashi hesitated for a second before dumping the folder on the coffee table before sinking into the couch with a tired sigh. Earlier at the gala, he had smiled, shook hands, danced, made small talk and socialized with the people within his circle - he endured this for a good two hours - and it only made him irritable by the time he left. Not even the gourmet food served during dinner pacified him; he hardly tasted anything. His other self had been raging to be let loose - turns out that he was not the only one who had had enough of the situation. He let his head fall back against the backrest, his tired eyes trained to the ceiling, and after a moment he closes them and lets out another sigh.

The people, the gala - it suffocated him to the point that he had to go to the balcony once to clear his head. Looking at the other guests inside, Akashi cannot help but think how pathetic they all looked, despite the elegant dresses and suits and jewelry they wore.

They all looked fake to Akashi, with all their well-rehearsed words and practiced smiles. And after interacting with them, he felt quite dirty himself. He was on the verge of falling asleep when his phone vibrated in his pocket. Taking it out, he opened the message he received only to find that it contains the surveillance photos of Kimiko's dinner with Himuro - and a part of him demanded that it should have been her whom he dined and danced with tonight, if not for his duties to his family.

Akashi stared at the pictures and he can almost hear her silvery laugh as she responded to whatever the mirage shooter was telling her in that moment.

 _What if she chose him this time?_ Kimiko might treat him as her closest friend but Akashi is not sure if she will even consider him as a potential lover – not after that thing that he had done to her.

Akashi frowned, not liking his thoughts and its implications.

Akashi isn't used to this. Back in Teikou, he never felt - dare he say it? - threatened. The word left a bitter taste in his mouth. In Teikou, his position in her life was constant, stable, firm. She was his closest friend, and he was hers. She always chose him above anything else unless he tells her not to (and even then, she would still choose him - because she is stubborn that way). Whatever happens, Akashi can count on her being there for him, to help, to support, to comfort, and the best thing is that she does all this without even knowing. She is the balm that soothes his tortured, battered soul, the lullaby that calms him to sleep, the fire that keeps him warm... the Yin to his Yang. Despite being the training manager and later, first-string coach of the basketball club, Kimiko never treated anyone, not even the rest of the Kiseki no Sedai, not even Nijimura, like she treats him, like someone that's infinitesimally dear and important to her...

...and he recalls that even after he changed places with the Emperor, Kimiko still treated him the same way, with a fervent look in her golden eyes that somehow she can still reach the one she knew and cared for, until he did the unthinkable and choked her half to death.

It was actually a wonder how easily they fell back into their old ways considering their gruesome past.

Maybe it was unfair and irrational of him but he can't help feeling jealous of everyone she talked to, and given her natural ability to befriend just about anyone, the redhead sometimes wished that she'd never met all those new people. Everything just felt alien to him. Years ago, not a day went by without spending time with her. And then everything fell apart, she flew across the globe and stayed there for almost a year, and then she comes back and even though they'd rekindled their friendship, it is still weird to look beside him and not find her there because he is in Kyoto while she's in Tokyo, gracing everyone with her presence while he has to content himself with emails and phone calls when all he wanted to do was for her to talk to no one else but him.

Was it really too much to ask?

His grip tightened around the metallic device before he slammed it back on the couch as he stood to take a bath.

Perhaps a cold shower can cool down his rising temper.

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Kimiko yawned as she entered the hotel room that she shares with Akashi. She frowned at the dim lighting as she searched the room for the redhead while she took off her coat and gloves.

The water is running in the bath, and then it stopped.

She was putting her phone on top of her bedside table when Akashi came out of the shower. The carmine bathrobe that he was wore looked maroon in the dim light.

They froze as they stared at each other.

"Akumi."

"Seijuurou," she replied with a stiff nod. She shifted uncomfortably under his scrutinizing gaze. She held her breath as he approached her.

"I assume you already had dinner," he said, stating a fact.

"Yes," Kimiko replied, confused at his behavior.

After a long pause, Akashi suddenly said, "He didn't try anything on you, did he?"

Kimiko gaped at him. "What?"

"He didn't say anything rude? Made you uncomfortable?"

"Seijuurou-"

"He escorted you back here?"

Feeling overwhelmed as Akashi asked her a rapid series of questions about her dinner with Himuro, Kimiko grabbed his shoulders as if to shake him out of it.

"Seijuurou, stop! Just stop, okay? I'm fine, everything went well and Tatsuya was a perfect gentleman, okay? You don't have to worry."

Akashi stared at her as her hands let go,arms dropping to her sides as they regarded each other warily. Then he sighed in exhaustion.

"Maybe that's why I have to worry," he muttered in a low voice that Kimiko barely caught.

"I told you, it went perfectly-"

"Exactly!" Kimiko backed into the wall at his outburst. Maybe she shouldn't have, she thought dimly as Akashi slammed his hand on the wall inches away from her ear. Kimiko jumped as if she was electrocuted.

Gold eyes widened in surprise at the sudden display of anger from Akashi. It doesn't help that it was directed at her.

Akashi was breathing heavily as he glared at her. "The fact that IT went perfectly is reason enough to make ME worry!"

She couldn't believe her ears. Her brows furrowed in confusion as her mind failed to understand why Akashi was so agitated over a single dinner. "What? But-but why? Seijuurou, you're not making any sense!"

He slammed his other hand on the wall on the other side of her head, trapping her between his arms.

"What did he tell you?" he almost growled at her, voice low and dangerous.

Kimiko's hands shoved him away, but to no avail. Akashi didn't even budge. "Seijuurou, what the hell is going on with you?! Y-you're scaring me..." she whimpered as she drew back her chin, eyes shut tightly as if anticipating a blow from him.

For a long moment, only the sounds of their breathing can be heard above the thundering of their heartbeats. Kimiko gasped when his fingers ghosted over her cheek. His thumb wiped the wetness trailing down her face. She didn't even notice that she was already crying.

"I don't want to see you with him," Akashi muttered darkly.

"Seijuurou-"

Had she looked up at him then, she would have seen how his eyes turn hard and cold like marbles. "I don't like repeating myself, Akumi. Stay away from him."

"Seijuurou, why are you doing this?" she demanded weakly. Kimiko felt even more exhausted than before, and she'd rather sleep and deal with whatever this is tomorrow rather than right now.

But Akashi was no longer listening to her. "You promised." His voice dropped to a pained whisper. "You promised you'd never leave."

"I did! Who said that I am going to leave-"

"You're leaving me for him!" Akashi cut her off with an almost frantic voice, making her eyes widen in shock. The look in his ruby eyes were one of panic, like a cornered beast that does not know where to turn to. It sent her in a panic as well because she was not sure what to do with Akashi being like this.

One thing Kimiko knows is that she doesn't want to see him this way.

And so she caught him in a tight embrace, feeling every ragged breath that he took as he surrendered himself to her arms. Pulling her down with him, she seated the two of them at the edge of her bed.

"Seijuurou, calm down. I am not leaving you, okay? Whatever gave you that idea?" she asked him, although inwardly, she was worried about Akashi and the fact that he just lost composure just because of that notion. Just how deep did his mental scars run for him to behave this way?

"I don't want you to go, Akumi," she heard him weakly murmur as he raised his arms to wrap them around her waist to pull her closer to him. "I already lost you once. I don't think I can bear losing you twice."

"I told you-"

"Akumi, I love you."

The words registered in her mind a few seconds after Akashi whispered them in her ear.

 _What? Did he just-?_

Too shocked to formulate a proper reply to that, Kimiko just stood there with her mouth agape, like a fish out of water, while her mind tried to bring itself to understood what the redhead had just said.

What she didn't know is that Akashi had been waiting for her to say or do something, and when she didn't, Akashi thought of the worst.

 _Perhaps I was wrong, then._

But how can he be mistaken?

 _If she didn't feel anything but friendship for him, then how can she respond to his kiss with such passion?_

But just as he was about to give up on his hope that Kimiko feels the same way, she pulled away from him just enough to meet his gaze.

"Is that true?"

Akashi felt slightly offended. "Since when did I lie to you?"

"I didn't mean it like that! It's just-" Kimiko explained in a rush, then suddenly looked down at her lap. "Why me?"

"There's no one else I want," Akashi said with absolute certainty, not even pausing to think on his answer. "It has always been you, Akumi. You and no one else. That is, if you will have me."

The last part was more of a question that made her look up at him. He reached out and trailed his fingers lightly through her hair, fingertips brushing her reddened cheeks.

Kimiko released the breath that she didn't knew she was holding and replied, "I don't want anyone but you, either."

His breath caught in his throat upon hearing her confession. And how adorable she looks at the moment, with her cheeks flushed as she gazed up at him with loving and trusting eyes as she worried her bottom lip in nervousness. Letting his fingers trail down her cheeks, he tipped her head slightly upwards and traced her bottom lip with thumb.

Kimiko took in a deep breath as he bent down, his lips touching her cheek lightly. Akashi paused, and in that moment of hesitation, the chartreusette found her voice.

"...Are you going to kiss me now?"

"Can I?" he asked, and instead of answering him verbally, Kimiko reached up and pulled him down to her, surprising him as her mouth sought his. Recovering from his surprise at Kimiko's bold move, Akashi kissed her gently, carefully, unlike the passionate one they had a week ago. Kimiko, it seemed, was not content with what he was giving her, and she surprised him even further when she knotted her hands on the front of his bathrobe and pulled him harder against her. Unable to stop the low groan in his throat, Akashi gave in to her demands, and soon the chaste kiss turned into something more heated, more passionate, that he did not notice that he was already pushing her down to the bed, and only when her head bounced on the soft mattress did he realized what he had done.

Akashi froze.

"I'm sorry."

Dazedly, Kimiko accepted the hand that Akashi held out to pull her back to sitting position. Seeing the look on his face, Kimiko called out to him. "Hey." She reached out to take one of his hands and cradle it in hers.

"You should have told me to stop," he said in a low voice, guilt reflected in his ruby eyes.

She frowned. "Well, maybe I didn't want you to stop."

Caught off guard, Akashi whipped his head to look at her reddening face even as she tried to glare at him.

"Look, you're worrying too much. What's wrong with losing yourself once in a while?"

He did lost himself back there - he didn't feel anything but her soft lips and her warm body against his own, lost in the heavenly paradise that was Kimiko Akumi. He exhaled, and brought her right hand to cup his left cheek.

"What have I done to deserve someone like you?" he whispered reverently as Kimiko smiled a heartbreaking smile at him.

"I think I should be the one saying that," she replied. Kissing him softly on his forehead, she proclaimed her love for him with a gentle, "I love you too, Seijuurou."

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	33. 第33章

**Author's Note:**

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **33** **章**

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 **ー** **2nd Year, Teikou Middle School** **ー**

 _It's a month before the InterHigh, and things were starting to get real busy for Teikou's basketball club. Practice was more intense and serious, even though it was now Kimiko who was handling their training for the tournament after Shirogane Kozo collapsed two weeks ago. The chartreusette was an even stricter demon than the white-haired man when it comes to training, and although Sanada, who was appointed head coach as replacement for Shirogane, watches and sometimes supervises the training, it was Kimiko who directed the entire training - from the written schedule to the practice games that they were to play against rival schools up to the lineup for each game. It was a wonder how she managed all that given that it coincided with their midterm exams for the first semester; for the members, they were lucky for club activities were suspended before and during the exam week - however, what they didn't know was that Kimiko had been working on her duties and responsibilities as first-string coach all that time._

 _However, on this particular afternoon, the managers seemed to be relaxing in the laundry room as they folded the freshly-washed towels and practice vests. As expected, they started to fangirl about the members of the basketball club, particularly the regulars. Momoi, along with Atsuko and Miki, who were both her classmates as well, were debating over who is the most handsome in the team._

" _It has to be Kise-kun!" Atsuko said with a blush on her face. Ever since the blond model had joined the team, more and more girls wanted to apply as managers, however, Kimiko had fired most of them after three days when all they did was to ogle Kise while he practiced. "He and Aomine-kun - they're so cool! Just watching the two of them on the court makes your heart go_ doki-doki! _"_

 _Momoi tilted her head curiously at her friend. Well, Aomine is happiest when he's playing basketball - after all, he's a basketball idiot, so no need to wonder at that. Despite being a_ ganguro, _even Momoi cannot deny how much her childhood friend had grown. As for Kise, well, it's a given that he would be handsome, and more than once Momoi had heard of the other club members complaining about how Kise was lucky by being given both the looks and the talent. To be fair, she was doubtful about Kise at first - but when Kimiko ran him through some advanced drills, the pinkette was able to see the potential that Kimiko had seen in him._

 _However, if she was the one to decide on who is the most handsome among the regulars, then-_

" _If you were to ask me who's the most handsome of them all, then it has to be Tetsu-kun~!"_

" _Tetsu-kun?" Miki asked with a confused face._

" _You mean, Kuroko Tetsuya?" Atsuko clarified. "Isn't he the one that was promoted to first string earlier this year?"_

 _Momoi nodded, a blush on her face. "Yep!"_

 _Her two companions furrowed their brows at the lovestruck girl in front of them._

" _Isn't he the one who's always vomiting during practice?"_

" _...Right.."_

 _Momoi, of course, was quick to defend her crush. "But he's a totally different person when in a match! You two have seen him play, right?"_

" _Well, yeah," the two agreed. Everyone had been surprised when Kuroko was invited to join the first-string, and it was only when Teikou played a practice game with only the second-years playing that everyone was able to see the strength of the frail bluenette._

" _Kuroko-kun is rather a mysterious person, ne, Acchan?" Miki said, turning to the long-haired girl._

" _Hm-mm, but I think Midorima-kun is even more mysterious than he is," Atsuko said, pausing in her folding as she thought of the green-haired shooter. "He's always so serious, I don't think I've even seen him laugh."_

" _He's such an enigma," Momoi said, then added, "but he's quite a gentleman, isn't he?"_

 _This time, it was Miki who squealed. "He is, but Akashi-sama is the most gentlemanly of them all!" Her shoulder-length hair swayed as she covered her face with the towel that she was folding. "He's so perfect and nice! One time when I was tasked to buy bandages and other medicinal supplies for the team, I bumped into him on the way back and he took one look at me and the bags that I was carrying and he said to me, 'Thank you for your hard work in supporting the team. Let me take care of it from here' and he took everything from me!"_

" _Wow, Akashi-sama is really nice," Atsuko said, smiling as if she was the one who experienced the event._

 _Miki then giggled shyly. "But I was really nervous the whole time, though... I wasn't able to say anything in return!"_

" _Ah, I understand... Akashi-sama's aura is too strong that it's hard to get close to him..."_

 _Without thinking, Momoi can't help but point out, "Eh, but Aku-chan seems to get along well with Akashi-kun..."_

 _At the mention of the golden-eyed girl, Atsuko and Miki rounded up on Momoi and asked, "Ne, Satsuki, about Akumi-chan..."_

" _Hm, what about her?"_

 _Like Akashi, Atsuko and Miki were still hesitant to approach the chartreusette even though she'd already talked to them several times. The girl was just so different when she's out of the gym - so playful and sarcastic - as compared to when she's inside - it's clear as to who's the boss when it comes to training - and it was for that reason that they do not know how to approach Kimiko, much less to ask her about this kind of thing._

" _Is there something going on between them and Akashi-sama?"_

" _What makes you say that?" Momoi asked with a barely concealed grin on her face._

"Datte~! _Akashi-sama is always with Akumi-chan!"_

 _Momoi had been secretly shipping the pair even before that night when Akashi and Kimiko pretended to be in a relationship, going as far as to tell them that they were secretly engaged. The two were always in perfect sync with each other to the point of making her envious at how precious the redhead is when it comes to Kimiko, and what makes it even more adorable is that the two doesn't seem to notice just how they are acting towards one another, chalking it up as something normal between friends. It was really cute, really, however, sometimes Momoi wants to pull out her hair in frustration whenever the pair pulls out the we're-just-friends card._

 _However, just as she was about to answer, the very person that they are talking about poked her head in the laundry room and called out Momoi's name, shocking the three girls inside._

" _Satsuki?"_

" _Hai, Aku-chan?" Momoi said, smiling at the chartreusette who had stepped into the room, nodding her head at the two other girls._

" _Have you already finished compiling the data of the teams that I told you about?" Kimiko asked, sitting on the table where Momoi was folding the practice vests. Absentmindedly, she picked a blue vest and started folding them with almost robotic movements._

" _Yup!" Momoi reached under the chair to get her bag. Pulling out a thick folder, she handed it to the grinning chartreusette. "Here it is."_

"Arigatou~ _" Kimiko almost purred as she began to skim over the first few pages, taking in the information and analyzing them. Deciding to tease her friend, Momoi nudged her in the leg, her eyes glinting with mischief._

" _Ne, ne, Aku-chan," she said, and Kimiko looked up from the page that she was reading, "Is Akashi-kun your boyfriend?"_

 _Kimiko blinked once, twice, and then frowned. "Eh, et tu, Satsuki?" She pouted when she noticed that Atsuko and Miki were looking at her expectantly. "What's with everyone thinking that we are a couple?"_

" _Because!" Miki cried, "You and Akashi-sama looks really close with each other!"_

" _Hm-mmm," Atsuko was nodding. "And I saw him give you a gift on White Day!"_

" _So?"_

" _Aku-chaaaaan~" Momoi whined. Ever since that night when Kimiko admitted that Akashi was her type of guy, she'd always jump at the opportunity to tease her lime-haired friend about the redhead, but of course, only when said redhead was not around._

" _What? We're just friends, really," Kimiko said, raising her hands in surrender, the folder now forgotten on her lap. "If you want, you can go ahead and ask Seijuurou himself."_

" _Ask me what?" A new voice joined in their conversation, and the four girls turned to see Teikou's newly appointed captain standing in the doorway, fresh from their team run around the track oval. "Akumi, Coach Sanada has to attend to a faculty meeting. You'll be the one to facilitate today's practice after all."_

 _Kimiko was already on her feet. Armed with a towel, she skipped to Akashi's side and instead of handing him the towel, she began to wipe the sweat on his forehead, all the while lecturing him for not taking the time to dry himself before going off to look for her._

" _I forgot," was all he said, allowing the girl to fuss over him, even bowing down his head voluntarily so that Kimiko can dry his hair._

" _Really, now," Kimiko grumbled, pouting when Akashi silently chuckled. When she decided that Akashi was dry enough, she hung the used towel around his neck and grabbed the folder from the table, not noticing the conspiratorial grins of the three other girls in the room directed at her. "Fine, let's get going then."_

 _Akashi shook his head at the girl who was smirking like crazy beside him as they headed out the door. The last that they heard from the pair was Kimiko asking Akashi, "Ne, Seijuurou, Satsuki asked me if we were dating."_

" _Momoi?"_

" _Hm-mm. Why do they assume that?" Kimiko said as if the mere notion of her dating Akashi was so preposterous to her._

" _I don't know."_

 _A pause, and then Kimiko's voice was fainter now. "Now, for this afternoon's practice..."_

— **水** **曜日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **10** **日** **) —**

 **** Wakayama, Japan ****

 **和歌山** **、日本**

Akashi woke up to the sound of Kimiko's alarm, heard her grumbling against her pillow, blankets rustling as she finally got up to shut the damn thing off. When he sat up to look at her, she was stretching her arms above her head, yawning at the same time, not caring that how her hair looked like a tangle of vines, or the fact that as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes with the back of her hand, the neckline of her overly large sweater was already slipping off her shoulder, showing off her slender collarbone.

" _Ohayou_ ," Kimiko muttered. Even when half-awake, she's already aware of him, even though she was yet to look in his direction. She yawned again, looking ready to fall back to bed any moment.

"Good morning, Akumi," he replied, not looking the least bit ruffled. He looked at the girl on the other bed and said, "You can just stay and get some more sleep, if you want." Getting out of bed, he fixed the sheets before he started getting ready for his morning run with the team.

Kimiko gave him a grateful look at that, but she declined his offer. "Just five more minutes," she said before falling back to bed, hugging a pillow to her chest. Akashi chuckled at the childish display, then headed for the shower, a set of carefully-folded running attire in his arms.

The moment the bathroom door clicked shut, Kimiko erupted from the bed as if electrocuted. Last night, Akashi had-

 _Oh, kami._

Kimiko had to bury her face into her pillow to suppress the scream that came out of her mouth.

Now what?

 _How to proceed from here?_

As relieved and ecstatic as she was knowing that Akashi did love her, she was equally afraid and nervous about it as well. Being friends was easy, so simple and uncomplicated - however, now that they'd openly confessed to one another, she was at a loss on what to do.

Yet, remembering how almost everyone else tend to take them as a couple all these time, Kimiko wondered if what Shirogane Kozo had told her.

 _But you're acting like one already._

Kimiko blushed. "So what - are we just hiding behind the guise of being just friends all this time?!"

 _Without knowing that I already loved him from back then... Was that the case for Seijuurou as well?_

And so it was that Akashi found her ten minutes later, sitting up in bed while squeezing her pillow to death. Akashi stared at her before venturing to ask her what's wrong, making her jerk her head up suddenly.

Pain shot up her neck.

At the pained expression on her face, Akashi was at her side in an instant.

" _Itte..._ " she whimpered as her hand shot to her neck.

"Let me," Akashi told her, brushing her hand away along with her hair to reveal her slender neck. Her breath caught in her throat when she felt his fingers on her nape as he pressed on the sore muscles with a firm pressure. Mistaking her sharp gasp for pain, Akashi murmured a hasty apology. "Sorry, did that hurt?"

"N-no," Kimiko said. She could feel the heat creeping from her neck up to her face. _Damn whiplash,_ she cursed in her head. She bit down on her lower lip to prevent any sound that might come out as Akashi continued massaging her neck, all the while wishing for the torture to be over.

"There," and Kimiko let out a shaky breath as soon as Akashi pulled away from her. "Try moving your head to the side. Slowly." He watched as Kimiko did as she was told, and in a softer voice, he asked, "How was it?"

"T-the pain is gone," she said as she turned her head to the side, away from him so that he will not see her reddened face. "Thanks."

Akashi had already stepped away from her bed. "Anything for you, Akumi. What were you doing anyway?"

"N-nothing!" She yelped, earning an odd look from the redhead.

"Did something happened while I was in the shower?"

At his follow-up question, the girl's panic only seemed to heightened as she practically jumped out of bed. "Nope~!"

Looking at her retreating figure, Akashi can only shake his head in confusion.

 _I feel like I missed something... But what was it?_

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The moment Akashi and Kimiko made their appearance in the hotel lobby, Mibuchi and Mayuzumi descended on them like a pair of hawks. However, seeing the way Kimiko had her arm looped around Akashi's own, it was clear that all is well between the two of them. Whatever disagreement they had yesterday is completely forgotten, and for that, Mibuchi was grateful. Beside him, Mayuzumi breathed a sigh of relief as well.

"Is something the matter, Reo-nee?" Kimiko asked them, and Mibuchi instantly shook his head.

"Nothing, Kumi-chan," he answered pleasantly as they walked out of the hotel. It was then that one of the hotel staff approached Akashi and bowed respectfully before holding out a white envelope to him. The redhead's eyes narrowed slightly as he eyed the innocent looking piece of paper as he accepted it with a small nod of gratitude. Kimiko was silent beside him as he waved to the team to follow him outside, still holding the envelope in his hands.

"It's another invitation," he said out loud, sharing his thoughts to the girl beside him.

Kimiko frowned. "I hope it's not for tonight, though," she said, pouting. "Shirogane-san really wants to see you. The boys as well."

Akashi nodded, opening the envelope quite carelessly. Gingerly, he pulled out the scented invitations, then frowned as he noticed something odd.

There were two invitations inside the envelope.

 _Two_.

 _Now why would that be?_

"Thank goodness!" Kimiko suddenly said beside him, pulling him from his musings. "The ball is tomorrow!"

In his preoccupation at the presence of the extra invitation, Akashi had forgotten to check the date of the event, which was the reason why he opened the envelope in the first place. Trying hard not to grimace at the cloying smell of the paper, he read the details written on it in gold ink.

 _A charity ball_ , he scoffs inwardly. He didn't bother reading the details or the cause of the said event, but all he needed to know is that a lot of Japan's wealthiest – and even several foreigners – will be attending said as an excuse to flaunt their wealth. Several of Japan's prominent jewelers have gathered to exhibit their newest creations and have decided to host a ball for the said event, with the proceeds going to some environmental or historical cause. There will be a raffle before dinner where several lucky females will be chosen and have the chance to wear one of those jewelries for the rest of the party, with the results to be announced just before the dance. Akashi was somewhat irritated – of all the days to pick to hold the ball, do they have to choose the day when he was still present in Wakayama? Now, he was obligated to attend, as his father had decided to foist the responsibility of doing such tasks to his heir. He remembered the last gala that he had attended, how it frustrated him to no end, and now, it looks like he will have to endure another one.

Eyes on the second invitation, however, he thought, perhaps he might not suffer that much.

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Kimiko did not join their morning exercises; instead, she pulled out her camera from her bag and took pictures of the Rakuzan team as they ran laps in the cold Wakayama morning. She also took pictures of the sports complex that they were using. As Rakuzan were cooling down in the middle of the field, a pair of a young man and woman entered the complex and without preamble, began snapping pictures of Kimiko who was stunned for a moment before she frowned at them and exclaimed, not at all pleased at their actions, "Who are you and what do you think you are doing?"

The two were wearing dark sunglasses despite the fact that it was only six in the morning, and they have DSLR cameras with them, both aimed at her person. At her question, the two straightened up and the woman spoke in an annoyingly haughty tone.

"We're part of the media," she said, flashing her ID at the chartreusette, and she recognized the logo of the company that she represents. It was one of the notorious gossip magazines who mostly feature scandals and such.

In the field in the middle of the track oval, Mayuzumi paused in his stretching and called out to his captain.

"Akashi," he said simply, and gestured with his head.

"What is it, Mayuzumi?" Akashi replied with a slight raise of his brows.

"Maybe you should go to Kimiko right now," he said, which was unnecessary as the redhead had already spotted the two people who were harassing the chartreusette. By the time Mayuzumi had finished his sentence, Akashi had already left, his steps brisk as he headed over to Kimiko.

"I see," Kimiko had responded in a bland tone, "although I fail to understand why you are here. Are you sure you are not lost or something? After all, this is no place to sniff out a possible scandal, is it?"

The woman sneered, her lips garishly red. "Scandal? Of course not. Everyone is interested in the new model who had her first photo shoot with the famous Kise Ryouta – not every newbie is that lucky, you know. Kise-san's manager is particular with who works with his talents, after all."

Kimiko said nothing.

"We've been looking for you all over Tokyo last weekend. It was pure coincidence that one of our correspondents recognized you here in Wakayama, though one said that they saw you in Kyoto last Saturday..."

"Why –" Kimiko began, but a sudden presence from behind cut her off. Turning, she blinked in surprise. "Seijuurou, what are you do –"

Akashi cut her off with a look. "Who are these people?" he asked, not mentioning her name on purpose. His glare was enough to make the woman to falter visibly. Of course, she recognized him. Her eyes went to the stunned chartreusette, then to the redhead…

 _Wrong_ _move_ .

She shouldn't have looked at the Akashi heir. He was glaring at her with such intensity that if looks could kill, then she would've been dead by now – she and her partner. She began to stutter out an apology, but Akashi spoke once again.

"Are they troubling you?" he asked once more, his crimson gaze trained on their cameras.

Kimiko looked at the woman who had been acting arrogantly at her before Akashi made his entrance. She pitied her slightly; being on the receiving end of Akashi's glares is never pleasant. Seeing her now reminded her of a chihuahua quailing at being confronted by a lion. Somehow the visual amused her greatly, her lips curving up in a slight smirk.

"Not really," she replied to the redhead's question. "Said they were from the press, though..."

 _Paparazzi_. "I see," he said. "You've come to see her, then," he stated to the two who were trembling in front of him.

"We just want to know who she is," the woman defended weakly.

"So you decided to take photos of her without her consent," Akashi challenged. "Don't you realize how disrespectful you are being?"

"It's our job, to – "

"Intrude on other people's privacy, I know," Akashi interrupted with barely hidden contempt. They were wasting his time, and Kimiko's, as well. "If you are indeed professionals, then you should have invited her for a formal interview instead of just taking pictures. But then again, that won't do, since you are after scandals and not actual news."

Having said that, Akashi turned his back on them, taking Kimiko with him, away from the people who could probably ruin her life. Now that it was out to the paparazzi where Kimiko is, Akashi is certain that this will not be the last time that they will hear from them.

Not if he can help it.

On their walk back to the hotel, Akashi sent a message to one of his personal assistants. Perhaps a small warning to the media will do.

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"After what happened this morning, perhaps you should stay on our bench this time," Akashi said nonchalantly as he speared a slice of his pancakes with his fork.

"What happened, Akashi?" Shirogane Eiji asked from his seat at the head of the table, and Kimiko glared lightly at the redhead as he narrated the events to their coach.

"Perhaps that would be for the best," Eiji said to Kimiko when Akashi finished, worried for her safety as well. He knows how vicious those media hounds can get, and there's no knowing what will happen if they managed to get their hands on the girl.

"I know, Eiji-san, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline," the chartreusette replied, ignoring the warning look that Akashi was giving her. "I appreciate your concern but I can take care of myself."

Everyone in the table seemed unconvinced by her words but Kimiko continued eating, not the least bothered by their attention. The moment they entered the gym where Rakuzan's game will take place, the girl broke off from the group after giving Akashi a quick kiss on the cheek and went off to where the blond American is standing near a vending machine. Akashi was still giving her a disappointed look, but she waved him off with a smile as they headed off to their locker rooms.

Alex was immediately on her case as she asked her with suspicious eyes. "Okay, so what was that all about?"

Kimiko was leading the way, pushing through the crowd as they searched for empty seats facing Rakuzan's bench. "Well, a couple of paparazzi ambushed me this morning. Seijuurou was not pleased, as expected. He got rid of them quite easily, though he does not think that I can manage those stalkers by my own. Everyone on his team believes that I am much safer if I am down there on the bench with them instead of staying up here… Oh, there's a couple of vacant seats over there!"

"I take it you're quite annoyed at the whole thing, aren't you?" Alex asked once they secured the seats.

"Well, yes, I am..." Kimiko said with a dissatisfied pout on her lips. "I can take care of myself, damn it..."

Alex laughed, poking her in the cheek. "Doesn't change the fact that he wants to do it for you instead…."

"Tch." Kimiko clicked her tongue in annoyance, eyes on the court as both teams made their entrance. Rakuzan will be going up against Iwate today – a decent team, but not strong enough to stand against the Kyoto team – as long as the starting members won't be inside the court all at the same time. Another boring game, perphaps, if not for the fact that Kimiko enjoyed watching and analyzing the strategies that Akashi will be putting on play from his seat on their bench.

"So, Kumi-chan, what's with the early morning kiss, hmm?" Alex teased her just as the teams were introduced on the court. When the chartreusette's face reddened, the blonde woman cackled evilly, making the girl slump on her seat. Alex grinned.

 _This must be something good!_

 _Okay, play it cool, Akumi,_ Kimiko told herself. _No need to broadcast the sudden change in your relationship with Seijuurou._ But damn, just thinking of the redhead and what happened last night was enough to send her blushing like a tomato. _Was I that obvious?_ She unconsciously patted her cheeks. _Surely I'm not acting like a lovesick idiot? Ugh._

"So what happened, Kumi-chan?" Alex goaded her, bumping her shoulder against hers.

Kimiko closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. When she opened them once more, she was once again the cool, composed Kimiko Akumi. "Nothing, Alex. Why do you ask?"

However, the American was not easily dissuaded. The girl's poker face was good and would have convinced her to drop the subject had she not blushed earlier. She waggled her finger at the girl's self-satisfied face. "Nuh-uh, Kumi-chan… I know you're lying…"

"Prove it, then," Kimiko challenged with a proud smirk, and Alex pointed down to where a certain redhead was looking in their direction and as she watched the younger girl smile almost automatically, she cannot help but giggle to herself.

 _How cute._ She looked on as Kimiko gave a small two-fingered salute to Akashi and the boy's lips curved upward at the gesture. Something about the way the two looked at each other seemed different than they did yesterday, Alex noticed. Something about Kimiko's flushed cheeks and Akashi's almost bashful nod made her think.

 _Different… What changed?_ she thought. "Well, that was fast. I did expect that the two of you will end up together, but for it to already happen?"

Kimiko shushed her with frantic eyes. "Alex, not so loud!"

"Aha! So it's true then?" the American asked her in a conspiratorial whisper, grinning widely. "Who confessed to who?"

Luckily for her, the game was about to start and Kimiko said, "I'll tell you later, okay? But promise me that you won't say a word about this to anyone. Not. A. Single. Word. Okay?"

Alex nodded eagerly, though her thoughts were on one of her students. _What did I tell you, Tatsuya?_

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"Sei-chan, perhaps you shouldn't worry too much about Aku-chan," Mibuchi said beside Akashi, eyes on the court as he watched their teammates execute Akashi's play without a hitch. As of the moment, only Hayama was on the court with four other members of the first-string.

Akashi hummed vaguely, and Mibuchi found himself smiling slightly. _Sei-chan is so sweet,_ he thought. Akashi may not show it – and may not even admit it - but he cares too much for his friends in his own unique way. To be honest, Mibuchi was surprised by this quality of the younger male, seeing that when he first knew Akashi, he was more of a tyrant. To say that he was grateful for the teal-haired phantom for bringing back this Akashi was an understatement. Akashi still is a tyrant at times, but he's a tyrant with a heart, alright.

"Aku-chan is a special person to you, ne, Sei-chan?" he asked their captain, remembering the little kiss that the chartreusette had given the redhead earlier.

This time, Akashi looked up at Mibuchi, a thoughtful look on his face. Finally, he nodded in confirmation to his teammate's statement. "Very much."

"I am glad that you two are okay now," Mibuchi rambled on. "It's kinda quiet without Kimi-chan." _And Sei-chan looks more peacfeul whenever she's around,_ he continued in his mind.

"Is that so?" Akashi mused. It seems that in such a short time, his teammates had grown fond of the lively chartreusette – that or the fact that he is much nicer when she's around. "Is Hayama not loud enough for you?"

Mibuchi laughed. "He's a different kind of loud!" he protested. He then rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I really hope that Aku-chan will go to Rakuzan this coming spring, though _._ "

"You really should decide on what to call her, Mibuchi," Akashi pointed out lightly, making the shooting guard to be flustered.

"Eh, Sei-chan noticed?" Akashi nodded, an amused smile on his face. "Ah, well, I have decided on Aku-chan, since Eikichi is Ei-chan, Kotarou is Ko-chan, and... well, Mayuzumi-san is Mayu-chan and... Ak- Sei-chan is Sei-chan!" he finished with a matching peace sign.

And with that, Akashi shook his head and chuckled shortly. Mibuchi is just too funny at times.

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After their game that morning, their coach declared that his team were free to do what they want for the day, and his announcement was met with a chorus of cheers from his team. Today was perhaps the only chance they have of exploring Wakayama, since tomorrow would be the semi-finals. Akashi had already announced that he will be watching the middle-school games with Kimiko later that afternoon, with Mayuzumi and the Uncrowned Generals asking his permission to join them. Kaijou, Seirin, and Yosen still have to play their own matches in the afternoon so Kise, Kuroko, and Murasakibara won't be able to join them, although the three had confirmed that they will be present during the dinner with the Teikou team.

The team returned to the hotel to change to more suitable clothes for a day around the city, and since there was a light snowfall that morning, their tracksuits won't be warm enough, especially if they decided to stay out until evening, since their coach was lenient enough to give them until nine in the evening to enjoy themselves. Of course, that comes with a mild threat of quadrupled training if they returned a minute late, courtesy of their captain.

To counter the winter chill, Akashi wore a light brown, knee-length military coat over his black turtleneck shirt and balck pants while Kimiko chose a black fur-trimmed walker coat over her plaid dress and tights. Seated on the couch, Kimiko was about to lace up her boots when Akashi suddenly knelt down in front of her and took over, his fingers deftly tugging at the strings and tying them into perfect little bows. He straightened up and offered a hand at the chartreusette.

"Are you ready?"

Smiling serenely as she placed her hand in his awaiting one, Kimiko replied, "Aa. _Iku zo_!"

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"So where are we headed first?" Kimiko asked as they walked along the streets, arms linked with each other. Her camera was safely bundled up inside her bag that Akashi had insisted on carrying for her, to which she only relented after a short staring contest with the redhead. A chilly gust of _ume-_ scented air blew over them, making her unconsciously bury her chin further into her scarf, with Akashi glancing at her from the corner of his eyes.

"Perhaps we should have an early lunch before we go sightseeing," he suggested, thinking that since they only have five hours to kill before Teikou's match at three in the afternoon, they will only be restricted to visiting those within the vicinity. He would have loved to take her to Shirahama; seeing the famous feline stationmaster will be a good choice as well, given her love for cats... _Maybe a pilgrimage to Koya-san as well... But first things first._ Noticing how cold she was getiing, he asked, "How about some hot ramen, Akumi?"

The walk to Ide Shoten was a short one, and Akashi was feeling happier than he had been lately. Seeing the look of amazement in Kimiko's golden eyes as he told her the story of the famous ramen shop filled him with a sense of wonder at how a person like him can bring such overflowing happiness to another person.

Akashi and Kimiko were lucky enough to be one of the first customers of the famous ramen shop. Akashi watched as Kimiko's eyes wandered over the small ramen shop. The shop was very old, and Akashi wondered if there had been changes done in the store since the time it started. Kimiko already had her phone out and was snapping pictures of everything that caught her attention - from the red paper lantern and the old yellow-and-red shop sign outside to the cosy interior. He saw her focus on the vintage wall clock and the messages from famous customers that covered the walls, taking photo after photo.

When their turn came, Akashi simply raised two fingers and the man on the counter smiled and nodded before going off to the kitchen to get their orders, which were done in a flash. He had tugged at Kimiko's sleeve and pointed at the kitchen, visible when you stand next to the cash register.

" _Sugee_... They really are masters at their craft..." Kimiko said in awe as she watched how their ramen was prepared. Choosing to sit at the counter rather than at the communal table in the center of the room, Akashi managed to suppress a sigh when the girl took a photo of their food, along with the basket of boiled eggs and mackerel sushi that was already on the counter.

 **Instagram post by Kimiko Akumi . Feb 10, 20xx at 11:47am UTC**

0 Likes, 0 Comments – Kimiko Akumi ( empress_akumi) _Ramen (_ chuko _-_ soba _) and_ hayazushi _at Ide Shoten with Seijuurou! - at Ide Shoten, Wakayama, Japan_

Kimiko, of course, noticed and stuck a tongue out at him. "I thought you're used to it by now," she teased as Akashi simply raised a brow at her in amusement. Inhaling the heavenly scent of the food before them, she clasped her hands, chopsticks in between them, and they chorused " _Itadakimasu!"_

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Minutes later, the two of them made their way out of the ramen shop, but not before Kimiko managed to take a picture with the owner, who had approached them when he recognized Akashi from his previous visits. It turns out that Akashi has a secret (or not-so-secret) fondness for the _chuko-soba_ and had made it a point to dine at Ide Shoten at least once every time he gets sent to Wakayama.

Deciding that it would be best that they do not wander off too far from the city, Akashi led Kimiko to the entrance heading to the Wakayama castle, where he took stolen pictures of the chartreusette as they ventured inside. In her excitement, Kimiko had actually forgotten about her DSLR camera, now hanging off Akashi's neck instead.

They crossed the bridge, and entered the beautiful Momiji Gardens, and he was half tempted to invite her to tea since there was a teahouse present but thought better of it, since they were on a limited time and he was certain that Kimiko would want to explore the inside of the castle more than lounging indoors sipping tea. It was when they passed a certain _ume_ tree that Kimiko turned almost bashful and asked if they could have a picture together.

After asking a kind stranger to take their picture, Akashi surprised her by asking if _he_ could take their picture.

"Eh? But we just did…?"

Shaking his head at her, Akashi said, "That's not what I meant." And before she could reply, Akashi slipped an arm around her waist and with his phone's front camera aimed at their faces, he said softly, "Smile, Akumi."

The words reminded her of that summer evening years back, how she felt the same fluttery feeling in her chest as he said those exact words to her. Maybe, even back then, she'd already loved him more than a friend.

Looking at the photo, Akashi smiled to himself. A bashful Kimiko. That's pretty rare.

Despite being flustered by Akashi's unexpected sweetness, it didn't stop her from teasing the redhead. Nudging him in the shoulder, she snorted, "Since when did you knew how to take selfies…?"

"Hn. After seeing you and Mibuchi doing it all the time, I'm sure I can do it as well," was his retort as he pocketed his phone like it was something dearly precious to him.

"By chance, do you have a social media account that I didn't know of?" she asked as they ventured to the castle grounds.

"Perhaps."

" _Eh?!_ You have?! What was it? Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

Akashi sweatdropped. "...I was...merely joking, Akumi."

The girl pouted. "...Hmp."

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"There, all done!" Kimiko declared proudly as she handed Akashi his phone. After exploring the castle and taking lots and lots of pictures (as long as they're allowed, of course), Kimiko had this brilliant idea of making an Instagram account for Akashi. They had already headed outside and was merely killing time inside a cafe near the gym where Teikou's match will take place. Instead of sitting across him from the table, Kimiko had ended up sitting right next to the redhead as she watched him tinker with the settings of his brand new Instagram account.

It doesn't surprise her when Akashi switched it to 'Private", even more when it was her name that Akashi searched first. When he clicked the 'Follow' button, she quickly opened her account on her phone to follow him as well.

 **Kimiko Akumi ( empress_akumi)**

 **4009 posts | 14.3k followers | 429 following**

Knowing that Akashi is not one to search for their friends, she pulled up his account and took a screenshot of his profile and posted it with the following caption:

 **Instagram post by Kimiko Akumi . Feb 10, 20xx at 2:24 pm UTC**

 **0 Likes, 0 Comments – Kimiko Akumi ( empress_akumi)** _ **Someone just got his IG account! Follow emperor_seijuuro - at Shironeko Cafe, Wakayama, Japan**_

 **Akashi Seijuurou ( emperor_seijuurou)**

 **0 posts | 1 followers | 1 following**

The comments section was immediately flooded.

 **fabulous_reo** OMG, it's Sei-chan~! _1m_

 **thenameischihiro** Hm. Greetings. _2m_

 **kotaroooouraijuuuu** Hi there, Captain! _2m_

 **fabulous_reo** _kotaroooouraijuuuu_ Still so loud. Tsk. _thenameischihiro_ What kind of greeting is that? _3s_

 **thenameischihiro** _fabulous_reo_ It's better than yours. _5s_

 **themuscleman** *muscle emoji* *muscle emoji* *muscle emoji* _30s_

 **fabulous_reo** _themuscleman_ NOT THAT AGAIN EI-CHAN! _2s_

 **empress_akumi** Aren't you guys together? _4s_

 **thenameischihiro** Not exactly. Nebuya and Hayama has vanished to _Kami_ knows where, and Mibuchi is following me. _6s_

 **emperor_seijuurou** Will you still be watching the Teikou match with Akumi and I? _3s_

 **fabulous_reo** _emperor_seijuurou_ Oh gosh, how can I be so forgetful? Mayu-chan, let's go~! _1s_

 **empress_akumi** _fabulous_reo_ *laughing emoji* _2s_

 **thenameischihiro** We'll head there after I collect the other two. _3s_

 **kotaroooouraijuuuu** _thenameischihiro_ You make it sound like we're a bunch of Pokemons... =_= _3s_

 **thenameischihiro** _kotaroooouraijuuuu_ A Jolteon, a Machamp, and a Jynx. _4s_

 **empress_akumi** OMO _3s_

 **kotaroooouraijuuuu** Cool! I'm a Jolteon! _5s_

 **fabulous_reo** I'M NOT A JYNX! _1s_

"Well, that escalated quickly..." Kimiko laughed as she read the comments. Akashi can only shake his head at his team's antics as he approved of their requests on his phone.

"Mibuchi will not let Mayuzumi off the hook easily this time," he mused, looking on Mayuzumi's recent post featuring the three aforementioned Pokemon.

"Heh, Chihiro-senpai is savage." Kimiko laughed, liking the said post.

"At least this time, everyone knows what he's referring to..." Akashi mused, remembering all those times Mayuzumi would say something that's anime- or game-related and the rest of the team has absolutely no clue as to what he's talking about.

Rakuzan sure is full of weirdos – just like his old team in Teikou.

Perhaps the reason why he was able to take it all in stride. After all, he's been through something similar – or was it worse? - before that Akashi highly doubts that nothing his current team can do can surprise him anymore. And if Kimiko was to add in their craziness, well... Let's just say that it would be just like the old times.

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" _Natsukashii na..._ ," Kimiko murmured as she gazed at the players wearing the white-and-sky blue jerseys down on the court. Roughly a year has passed since they graduated from Teikou yet to her, it seemed like eons ago. She waved at Shirogane Kozo when she managed to catch the older man's attention, and saw Akashi nodding at him in acknowledgment. As for the players, she gave them all a big thumbs up for encouragement. Matsuoka was the happiest of her four apprentices after seeing her up in the stands.

"They're a good team," Akashi said as he looked at Teikou's starters appraisingly.

"Hm-mm," Kimiko replied almost fondly. "The members are very well-rounded and close to one another." Akashi listened as she told her about the four freshmen that she'd taken under her wing. "Their captain is a bit of a goofball, though, but he knows to get serious when the situation calls for it." Kimiko points at the player wearing the number-four jersey. "He's kinda looks like Nijimura-senpai, minus the grumpiness."

He nods in agreement. "Hardly what one expects from a captain, but I can see that his teammates trusts him."

"He told me that you're his role model, you know," Kimiko reveals, pressing the back of her hand to her mouth as she snickers. "Like, he's a fanboy or something... Seriously, Seijuurou! I woudn't put it past him if he goes to enrol in Rakuzan this spring..."

Akashi was thoughtful, though. The majority of the first-string will be graduating this year, and though there are several in the second-string who has shown great potential, there's no harm in looking for possible recruits for next year – and what better school to check than his _alma mater_? Leaning forward with interest, he muttered more to himself than to Kimiko, "Hmm, is that so... Let's see what he can do then."

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Sitting on Kaijou's bench, Kise decided to play with his phone out of boredom. Much like what Rakuzan has been doing with their starting players, Kaijou had been reserving their ace's strength for the semifinals. Kise was lucky if he lasted a full quarter in the court, and though it was annoying, he perfectly knew why it was necessary. Staring at his feet, Kise was reminded of last year's Winter Cup, where he acquired his ankle injury, cursing Haizaki in his head.

He didn't realize that he had been staring blankly at his phone until he noticed the notification on his notification bar.

 _ **empress_akumi just shared a post.**_

Clicking on it immediately, Kise was greeted with a photo of a steaming bowl of ramen, which made him laugh. _Really, Akumicchi..._ The girl was totally obsessed with pictures. He then proceeded to check her previous posts since he was unable to do so yesterday, only to regret doing it. There were already six new posts, and aside from the one containing the screenshot of Akashi's Instagram account profile and one group picture of her with the Rakuzan team inside a cafe, the rest were photos of Kimiko and Akashi together.

It doesn't help that they really looked good together, more than they did on their photoshoot.

Out of curiosity, Kise clicked on Akashi's username – _do they really have to match?_ His account was private, which did not come as a surprise to him, but what did shocked the blond was the redhead's profile picture. It suspiciously comes off as a couple shot, what with Akashi's hand on Kimiko's waist as he held her close to him as he took the picture.

 _I didn't know Akashicchi takes selfies!_ Kise exclaimed in his mind. The chartreusette's smile was not her usual, though, but it didn't made her less beautiful. If anything, it just made her that much more endearing – with her perfectly flushed cheeks and that almost shy smile as she looked at the camera. The scene was made even more perfect by the snowy-white _ume_ blossoms behind them, making the red and chartreuse and gold to stand out.

In short, it was a perfect photo.

"Is there a problem, Kise?"

Kise blinked. "Nothing, Kasamatsu-senpai. Just bored," he replied, not wanting to look at his captain's eyes. _This is bad... I really have to stop feeling like this. Especially at a time like this. I cannot have the team worrying because of me._

 _Tch. Stubborn brat._ Kasamatsu sighed. "If you want to talk, I am willing to listen," he said in a softer voice.

" _Arigatou,_ Kasamatsu-senpai, but I am fine, no need to worry."

 _Still being stubborn about it, eh,_ Kasamatsu thought, getting irritated at the blonde. "Fine, have it your way then." Looks like he'll have to wait until their ace was ready to open up to to the team – and to him.

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 **** Tokyo, Japan ****

 **東京、日本**

It was during their ten-minute break in between classes that Takao turned to him and showed his phone to an annoyed Midorima, who was diligently reading their lessons in advance for their next class. The hawk-eyed boy reached out and placed his phone in front of the English book and grinned at him.

"I found something interesting about the people currently in Wakayama," he said gleefully.

At this, Midorima merely snorted, shoving Takao's hand away. Though he may not show it, he was still bitter about the Nationals. "I don't want to hear about it, Takao."

"Akashi now has an Instagram account!"

Midorima, who had turned away in his seat, sputtered. "He what now?!"

"Ahahahaha, Shin-chan! Why so surprised?" Takao laughed, unable to stop himself due to the flabbergasted expresion on his teammate's face. "It's just an Instagram account, no need to have a heart attack..."

"Let me see that!" Grabbing Takao's wrist, Midorima stared at the screen showing Kimiko's post about the redhead's newly acquired social media account.

 _Naru hodo._ It explains everything.

Kimiko's to blame for everything. Having learned that, Midorima was quick to lose interest. Sure, Akashi is unpredictable, but when he does something that's way too unlike him despite his unpredictability, there can only be one person behind it.

"Eh, Shin-chan? Are you alright?" Takao found himself asking when the green-haired boy immediately returned to his usual aloof demeanor when just minutes ago, he had been thoroughly shocked. _What did I miss?_ Before he could get answers though, their teacher had already arrived, prompting him to hide his phone back in his pocket. _Oh well, I'll ask him about it later, then._

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 **** Wakayama, Japan ****

 **和歌山、日本**

Teikou won the match 104-85, and aside from the nasty stunt that one of the players pulled on one of the starting freshman, it was a great game all in all. Kimiko was happy seeing how the Teikou players showed excellent teamwork inside the court, and she was extremely proud of her students. Beside her, Akashi was having mixed emotions – he was glad that Teikou won despite the fact that it was somewhat already expected, and relieved to see his former coach back on the bench, but at the same time he was feeling somehow bitter and envious. If they were just normally talented players like the current Teikou players instead of the monster-like prodigies they've become, would things have gone differently? And if Shirogane- _kantoku_ had been there beside them, guiding them, could he have stopped them from going down that path of destruction?

 _But there's no use in crying over spilled milk_ , Akashi thought as the Rakuzan members took their leave, planning to have dinner first before they wander around the city before going back to the hotel. Kimiko pulled at his arm as they headed outside as well to wait for the Teikou team. She had already called their former coach to inform him that the rest of the _Kiseki_ will be waiting for them at the restaurant, while the two of them will be their escort to their venue, before giving the phone to Akashi who exchanged a few words with Shirogane.

After a short wait, the Teikou team made their appearance, with the younger players running towards Kimiko instantly with merry shouts of greetings. "Kimiko-senpai!" The third- and second-year players were more reluctant to approach them directly, especially since they recognized the figure beside her, with his crimson hair and eyes.

"Yo!" Kimiko returned their smiles, then waved at Shirogane who was at the back of the group. "Shirogane-san!"

"Akumi-chan, Akashi-kun, nice to see you again," the older man said with a fond smile. The girl ran up to him with a hug while Akashi extended his hand over to him. His two former apprentices have surely grown, and it pleased him to see that Akashi had turned out fine. Kimiko's presence did wonders to the normally uptight boy, who was now smiling slightly at the sight of Kimiko talking to Teikou's players comfortably.

A boy with coffee-brown hair peered at the redhead before asking the chartreusette about him. "Ne, Kimiko-senpai, that's Akashi Seijuurou, right? The captain of Rakuzan?"

"Hm? That he is," she replied cheerfully, then to their surprise, she hooked an arm around one of Akashi's and pulled him forwards, presenting him to the group. "Guys, I'm sure you know who he is, but for formality's sake, let us do the introductions, okay?"

"I'm Akashi Seijuurou, former captain of Teikou. _Hajimemashite."_

Seeing their idol bowing down to them flustered them that all of the middle schoolers mirrored his actions, bowing down even lower. "I-it's an honor to meet you, s-senpai!" their captain, a third-year named Akihiko Shinji, stammered. He can't believe that he was talking to his idol face to face!

On the side, Kimiko and Shirogane laughed at the display. "Now, now, no need to get so formal with one another!" she cried, waving her hand at them in a dismissing manner. _Sheesh, these guys has no chill..._ "We're all from Teikou so we shouldn't be acting like strangers – if anything, we are more like family, right?" She elbowed Akashi and Akihiko lightly at the side at the same time.

"But Kimiko-senpai-" one of the boys start to argue, but was silenced with a look from the chartreusette, making the rest of them to sweatdrop. Even Akashi made a small "Pft" sound at that.

 _Somehow I feel like they should be more wary of Akumi-chan than Akashi-kun,_ Shirogane thought with a smile, knowing the girl's attitude. He looked on as Kimiko finally managed to ease the middle-schoolers to talk to the redhead, as they now discussed the game they just played. It was like one of those after-game meetings that Kimiko insisted on having, even when they won every single game. Unless someone fails badly in Akashi and Kimiko's eyes, the meeting was full of playful banter and teasing, making Nijimura to sigh in exasperation every time. But what the older boy didn't tell his _kouhais_ is that he was thankful for all their craziness because they still managed to make him laugh despite the fact that he is worried for his father who was confined in a hospital during that time.

"They're getting along really well," Kimiko said, appearing beside the older man with a grin.

"Do you think Akashi-kun will be alright?" Shirogane asked. The boys were behaving quiet well, though their laughter as they teased their teammates over something that Akashi had said or pointed out about their game performance did not decrease in volume.

Kimiko laughed. "Oh, I'm sure he will – he'd dealt with worse. Besides, I'm getting a little left out of their conversation... Damn Seijuurou and his charisma..."

Shirogane patted the pouting girl's head. Akashi was now up front with the Teikou team, while the two of them followed close behind. After Akashi had given pointers to one of them on how to improve his anklebreaks, all of them had been wanting to get some advice from the greatest captain Teikou had ever produced. Akihiko in particular looked like he's in heaven, walking side by side with the redhead.

"He'll make a great coach someday," Shirogane said out of the blue, almost sadly, and Kimiko nodded.

"I know. You should have seen the plays he'd put into action in the previous games that his team has played in the Nationals," she said with great admiration.

"My brother has been telling me lately that he will be out of work if that continues," Shirogane said with a chuckle, then in a more serious tone, he added, "I've never seen such a brilliant playmaker until I handled him in middle school."

Kimiko looked at Akashi's figure surrounded by his _kouhais._ Time is running short for his basketball-playing days. Two more years, and when college rolls around, Kimiko is no longer certain if Akashi will still have time for competitive basketball.

"If all of them, including Kuroko and Taiga were to pursue a career in professional basketball, I'm sure that they will be able to change the Japanese basketball scene," she mused, the voices of their companions now a distant drone to her ears. "However, the only ones likely to do so is Daiki and Taiga – Ryou-kun, probably... But who knows, right?"

"Now, now. Akumi-chan, this is not the time to be so serious," Shirogane said, patting her on the shoulder like a doting father. "Let us just enjoy the present for the meantime; the future can wait until tomorrow or next month."

Biting her lip, Kimiko paints a smile on her face. "Aa, you're right, Shirogane- _kantoku_. I'll think about those troublesome things later. Right now," she paused and realizes that they are nearing their destination, "right now, I have to check if the rest have already arrived. Excuse me for a moment."

Shirogane nodded as the girl fished out her phone and checked for a confirmation message from Kuroko, who was the only responsible one among the three. Sure enough, there it is, timed just a few minutes ago. She smiles as she messaged him back, informing them of their arrival. Akashi had finally disentangled himself from his enthusiastic audience and had finally retreated to the back where Kimiko and Shirogane was.

The chartreusette turned to him with a grin. "Heh, finally ran out of things to tell them?"

"Hm. I left them with a lot to think about," he said with a bit of arrogance.

Off to the side, Shirogane can only shake his head as the two began their usual bickering. Being with them like this, it's like he's back to time when the Miracles were yet to bloom.

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Akashi had made reservations in one of the classy restaurants in town, choosing it not for the extravagance but for the spacious private dining area as well as the abundance of meat dishes in their menu – remembering Aomine's craving for food post-game. It was a fusion Japanese restaurant anyway, so he had considered Shirogane, Kimiko, and Kuroko's choice of food. As for himself, eating Western-inspired food once in a while is not a bad idea.

They were met by a chorus of greetings as they entered the room, although Kise's enthusiasm sounds forced. Murasakibara was munching on a _maiubo_. Kuroko was polite as ever, and he was already counting on one of the Teikou players to ask about the 'missing' member of the _Kiseki_ since Kimiko had told them that the other three will be meeting them at the venue.

Kimiko made the introductions once again, pausing when she was done with Kise and Murasakibara, and as if they rehearsed it earlier, Kuroko suddenly popped out in between them and said a quiet, "Hello. Nice to meet you all. My name is Kuroko Tetsuya."

The surprised yellings of the Teikou players that resulted in the teal-haired boy's sudden appearance sent the rest of them in fits of laughter. Shirogane was chuckling, while Akashi can only shake his head in amusement as Kimiko and Kise leaned into each other for support. Murasakibara somehow managed not to spout bits of _maiubo_ from his mouth as he too was taken by surprise.

Once they somehow settled down, Kimiko wiped the tears of mirth at the corner of her eyes. "Man, this never gets old..."

"You're like a jack in the box, Kurokocchi, appearing like that out of the blue," Kise said, and this time, his happiness is genuine.

"You should have given me a warning signal before doing something like that, Kumi-chin." Murasakibara had choked on his food instead and it was a good thing that there was complimentary water on the table. If not, well, Akashi had a reserve bottle inside his bag.

"Ah, but that would ruin the fun," she teased, not looking sorry at all. "Are you alright, Shirogane-kantoku?"

"I'm alright... It's been a long time since I witnessed that," he replied with a smile. He looked at his current players, who were looking at Kuroko with interest. "Now, boys, meet the legendary phantom sixth man of Teikou, the one and only Kuroko Tetsuya."

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	34. 第34章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **34** **章**

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— **水** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **10** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Wakayama, Japan ****

 **和歌山** **、** **日本**

Dinner was a loud and noisy affair, given that they were mostly teenage boys – and add Kimiko and Kise to the mix – and Akashi was grateful that Aomine was not there, because then the noise would be unbearable.

Doesn't mean that he won't go along with it.

Orders were made, and the rectangular table was soon filled with steaming dishes. Kimiko then starts telling random stories about their time in Teikou, and they all found themselves doing the same. Even Shirogane told them a few, but mostly, he shared the most embarrassing ones.

"Oh my God, Shirogane-kantoku!" Kimiko exclaimed at one point, "I thought you were not aware of that!"

"I have eyes and ears in the gym, Kimiko-chan."

The Teikou players were enthralled by their tales, especially the silly and funny ones. They had thought that the _Kiseki_ were all serious prodigies that did nothing but train and train and train – well, they did, but that does not mean that they didn't know how to have fun while they're at it. Their summer camps were all unforgettable ones, and it was clear that despite their differences in personality, they were all a tightly-knitted group, despite what others think.

"Heh, after all that talk, I may have to schedule one as well for Aomine, Momoi and Midorima just so they can return the favor," Kimiko said with a laugh. "Might as well give them a chance to redeem themselves in your eyes."

"I want in, Kimikocchi!"

"I'll tell you then. I wonder what Midorimacchi's lucky item will be on that day… Maybe something ridiculous? Like a hammer? A balloon?"

"Remember that fishing net he used on Aomine when he tried to skip on cleaning duties?"

"Mido-chin was carrying a phone book on the first day of class..."

"He once carried an _uchiwa_ around even though it was middle of winter," Kuroko added, though he felt slightly guilty for talking about those who weren't here with them.

Akashi watched them with a contented smile as he ate, perhaps the only one who was taking his food seriously. Kuroko was being talkative tonight, and so was Murasakibara, which was quite a surprise. He smiled as he lifted the chopsticks to his mouth. Were they trying to impress their _kouhais?_

He glanced at the girl beside him, and had to smile.

At first glance, it might seem that nothing has changed between them, however, for Akashi, it made all those small gestures from Kimiko a lot more precious - from the simplest brushes of her hand to the warm smiles that she gives him - it conveyed to him just how much the girl treasures him as much as he treasures her.

And his teammates were still unaware of the change in their relationship.

 _Ignorance is bliss, indeed,_ he thought when he caught Kise looking at Kimiko when she was laughing merrily at what was being said.

"On our training camp in Hawaii, he was walking around with a pumpkin on our first day!"

"You had a training camp in Hawaii?" Akihiko asked in surprise.

"Yep, we went twice – during our first and second year," Kimiko answered. "We were there for like, 5 days."

"I was only able to accompany them in their first year, but I heard everything you did there from Sanada," Shirogane said.

"We want to hear about it!" Matsuoka pleaded with Kimiko, who was just barely containing her laughter just at the reminder of that particular camp.

"Okay, so I'll tell you about the second one, since that was when Ryouta joined the club," Kimiko decided. "So…."

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 **ー** **Second Year, Teikou Middle School** **ー**

" _Aren't we too early?" Kimiko asked Akashi. It was four in the afternoon, and they'd already checked in for their flight, which was scheduled at nine in the evening. Even Akashi looked like he had wanted to say something about it to Coach Sanada, who had made the decision to go to the airport early due to the incident with Aomine last year. Because of that, Kimiko had decided for Momoi to come along with them this time to help them keep Aomine in check, as well as to handle the important things, like Aomine's passport and other important details._

" _They are not suited for waiting for hours without doing something," Akashi agreed. It was almost expecting for the others to do something._

" _It's bound to be something stupid, I bet."_

 _Akashi sighs. "Of course."_

 _They didn't have to wait long, though. Aomine, fed up with sitting at the lobby, got up and challenged Kise to a race down the aisle that was probably heading to someplace restricted to only employees of the airport, seeing that none of the other passengers used it. Of course, the two didn't know that, or didn't care to know, and so they started their passing practice. Kimiko and Akashi were about to reprimand them but Coach Sanada reached them first, who had just returned from somewhere._

" _They just had too much energy," the older man sighed after lecturing the two, who was lined up against the wall with sorry looks on their faces._

" _I should have made them run laps earlier," Kimiko spoke up, and Aomine and Kise turned to look at her. She then smiled at them and pointed her finger at the two._

" _The two of you, sit on those chairs until we depart, okay?"_

 _The troublesome pair visibly blanched. "Ch-chairs…?"_

 _Kimiko nodded. "Hm-mm, those invisible chairs behind you. Now. Sit. Down."_

"That was mean, Akumicchi..." Kise grimaced. "My legs felt like jelly after that!"

"Heh, just be thankful that Seijuurou saved from standing there for hours…"

 _When they returned to their seats, Akashi and Kimiko overheard Kuroko talking to Midorima about his lucky items._

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"Apparently, Oha-Asa can only tell your what your lucky item is up to the next day, so to play safe, Shintarou has this huge suitcase full of random things from his house."

"I wonder what the guys at the x-ray machine thought when they saw the contents of his bag~"

"Since it wouldn't be possible to take everything to Hawaii with him, Midorima-kun took pictures of those that he wouldn't be able to bring."

"Midorimacchi is always serious, but when he comes to school bringing all those outrageous lucky items with him, it just makes it terrible. Seriously, who brings a pick ax to school? Like, he's going to start a murder spree anytime… And he even polishes it when he has nothing to do!"

"Midorima sent me an email earlier that week asking me if I can contact Oha-Asa directly. He was not sure what timezone to follow and needed a confirmation."

Their listeners gaped at what they were hearing. To know that the fearsome shooting guard of the _Kiseki no Sedai_ was like this…

"And of course, Atsushi here brought his snacks."

"His bag was huge!" Kise emphasized this by drawing a huge circle with his arms. "I'm surprised that they allowed it as his hand-carry."

"Murasakibara-kun spilled his chips all over the floor. I"m afraid that Midorima-kun is going to lecture him, so I got up and pretended to go to the restroom. It was then that I found Momoi-san."

Seeing the looks of confusion on some of the Teikou players, Kimiko quickly pulled out her phone and showed them a picture of the pink-haired manager.

"She's the head manager at the time – she collects data from our players and opponents and analyzes their possible growth from there." A murmur of awe came from the group. She grinned. "She's awesome, right? And cute, as well."

"Akumi, just get on with the story..."

Kimiko huffed at Akashi. "Fine."

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" _Where's Momoi, by the way?" Coach Sanada asked the two. A few seats from them, Midorima was indeed lecturing Murasakibara, and in his disgust, the purple-haired center had begun to pick up the spilled chips and was eating them._

" _Those are contaminated already, Murasakibara! Do not eat them!" Midorima almost yelled, but that only made Murasakibara to pick the chips up at a faster rate._

" _Five-second rule~" he said between mouthfuls of chips._

" _There's no such thing as a five-second rule!"_

 _Akashi sighed. His teammates are very lively today. "I'll look for her."_

" _I'm coming with you!" Kimiko said, leaving Coach Sanada to calm down Midorima._

 _They found Momoi and Kuroko talking at a corner of the lobby, near the duty-free shop. Momoi seemed to be explaining something to a hesitant Kuroko, and so they hurried up to them since the girl seemed to be frantic about something._

" _Momoi. Kuroko. Is there something wrong?"_

" _Oh, Akashi-kun! And Aku-chan!"_

" _Coach Sanada was looking for you," Kimiko told the pinkette. "Nothing important though, he just didn't see you around so..." she shrugged. "I guess he's just paranoid or stressed. Whatever. Anyway," she gestured at Momoi and Kuroko, "you seem to be discussing something.. important?"_

 _Momoi blushed. "A-ano, the thing is, my mom and Dai-chan's mom asked me if I can buy them lipsticks from that store…" she said, turning her head to look at the store behind them._

" _Hm? What kind of lipstick do they want? Can't they just buy it themselves?" Kimiko asked in innocent wonder._

" _About that, they wanted a brand-name lipstick…."_

" _But isn't that available at the mall?"_

" _They asked Momoi to buy it for them at this store since it would be cheaper," Akashi explained to the chartreusette. "The goods sold inside are exempt from tax, so their prices are considerably lower than those sold in malls or specialized shops in Tokyo."_

" _I see…"_

 _Momoi then clutched her arm. "Ne, Aku-chan, can you come with me? Please?"_

" _E-eh? Will it be okay…?" Even Kimiko, who was usually confident with just about everything, was getting flustered as well._

" _But Aku-chan, I don't want to go alone…"_

" _B-but-!"_

" _We'll all go with you, Momoi," Akashi said with a gentle smile. His words stopped the two girls and Momoi looked at him with part eagerness, relief, and embarrassment._

" _R-really, Akashi-kun?" He nodded. "Demo, is it okay with you?" she asked in a small voice._

" _You have to buy those lipsticks, right? Then, let's go."_

 _The way he stated it so simply calmed the three, and so they followed their red-haired leader into the store. The staff at the entrance greeted them with a warm welcome which Akashi returned with a polite nod of his head before looking around the store, searching for the location of the cosmetic products._

" _Is it really alright for us to be here?" Kuroko asked to no one in particular, feeling totally out of place. The shelves they'd passed by contained expensive goods, imported products whose names he can't even pronounce. Also, they were the only minor customers here who do not have an adult with them…_

 _Well, it's not like they can ask Coach Sanada, anyway._

 _Akashi looked over his shoulder to Kuroko. "We are customers, therefore we are allowed to go in. It's not a matter of age, or gender, or social status. Anyone is allowed to buy what they want."_

 _When they arrived at the corner where all kinds of make-up where on display, Kimiko and Momoi stopped and stared at all the expensive products in front of their eyes – Momoi with a look of awe and longing, while Kimiko has a confused look, similar to Kuroko's._

" _Are you sure that this is not the arts and crafts corner?" she asked, pointing at a row of brushes, then at the palettes of eye shadows and rogues._

 _Akashi cannot help but smile at the innocence of his companions. They were totally unused to such extravagance. There was a slight feeling of envy as he saw them able to be impressed by such things, the feeling of seeing or experiencing something new, and to be able to show them openly…_

 _Unlike him…_

 _He shook his head at those thoughts and focused on the products before him. "Momoi, did they tell you the specific brand they wanted you to buy?"_

" _Um, hai! Here," and she handed him a piece of paper. Kimiko sidled over to look at it as well._

" _Is that some kind of code?"_

" _Sooner or later, you'll be learning this 'code' as well, Akumi..." Akashi teased lightly as he looked around. Kimiko was right by his side but she didn't dare touch the displays, but that's alright with him. He had no hesitation picking up a lipstick from the display, turning it in his hands only to return it back when he realized that it was not the one he wanted. A moment later, he turned to his companions with two lipsticks in hand and handed it over to Momoi. "Here you go, Momoi."_

" _Akashi-kun, thank you so much!" the pinkette squealed, hugging the lipsticks to her chest. "I couldn't have done it without you!"_

" _It's nothing, Momoi. It's the least I can do to thank you for all the hard work you've done for the team."_

 _They accompanied Momoi to the counter to pay for the items, and they exited the store with Momoi looking like a huge burden was lifted off her shoulders._

" _So problem solved!" Kimiko cheered the moment they stepped out of the glass doors. "Anyway, we have to go back to Coach Sanada, or he might really get crazy..."_

" _Akumi..." For some reason, Kimiko was not really in good terms with the replacement coach for Shirogane Kozo, and it seems that the dislike goes both ways, although Sanada grudgingly respects Kimiko for her skills as well as the fact that Coach Shirogane had given her his blessings._

" _Just kidding!" she said, holding her hands in surrender. "Don't tell him, though..."_

 _Behind them, Kuroko and Momoi were also in a silent conversation. With eyes fixed on the back of their captain, the phantom cannot help but say, "Sometimes, I can't believe Akashi-kun is of the same age as us..."_

 _Momoi nodded. "Hm-mm… Akashi-kun is really amazing, ne?"_

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"Even if Momoicchi asked me to come with her, I don't think I can manage it," Kise admitted.

"You should've told me, Kumi-chin~ There must be lots of delicious snacks in that store~"

Kimiko sweatdropped. "You never think of anything else but food, eh, Atsushi?"

"How long was the trip to Hawaii, Akumi-senpai?" Hitsugaya asked..

"How long…? Eto, let's see…"

Akashi answered for her. "It was around 12 hours."

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" _Daiki, will you please lower your voice?" Kimiko muttered darkly to the hyperactive ace, who was screaming in Japanese about Hawaii being so hot. Already, the other passengers disembarking the plane were looking at them but Aomine didn't seem to notice._

" _Hawaii is so awesome!"_

" _Aomine, at least keep quiet until we reach the bus," Akashi admonished._

 _Once they exited the airport and boarded the bus that will be taking them to their hotel, Aomine resumed his noise. Their group were situated at the back, with only Kimiko and Akashi sitting at the back seat. Kise was seated with Aomine, Kuroko with Momoi, and Midorima with Murasakibara. Coach Sanada was up front with the other four third-years. Nijimura was not able to go with them because of his father's condition._

 _Kuroko can only stare outside the window with wonder as he took in the scenery outside. It was his first time traveling abroad, and he was lucky that it was with his friends and in such a beautiful place, too. Momoi beside him was also feeling the same way._

" _We're in Hawaii, aren't we…?" he asked, as if in a dream._

" _Of course we are, Tetsu!" Aomine laughed from the seat in front of them. "Where did you think we – oh, it's the ocean! IT'S THE OCEAN!"_

" _IT'S THE OCEAAAAAAN!" Aomine and Kise chorused._

 _Baka," Kimiko murmured tiredly, her head resting on Akashi's shoulder._

" _Just let them be, Akumi," Akashi said softly, "They won't be as loud as soon as we start with the matches. They'll be too exhausted by then." He looked at his friends who were now arguing about the ocean and sunglasses. Murasakibara turned to him briefly to ask about that pancake shop that they just passed by._

 _Midway into their journey, Coach Sanada made some announcements regarding the rules and their schedule for the day. After lunch, they will be resting until three in the afternoon, by which they be having a joint practice with one of the teams. Of course, Coach Sanada prohibited them from leaving the hotel by themselves, for if they did, then they will be barred from joining the barbecue party at the end of the training camp. Of course, it was enough a threat to make the other boys to behave perfectly until the end of the training camp… Except for one._

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"Really? Aominecchi did that?!" Kise exclaimed. He didn't know about that one!

In his seat, well, Kuroko paled as he awkwardly scratched his cheek with a finger. "I didn't know that Akumi-san was aware of that..."

"When Midorima's roommate as well as my own vanished without a trace, it was the only possible answer," Akashi said, although he was looking at Kuroko like he was mildly disappointed with the bluenette for not stopping Aomine from sneaking out.

"I would have gone myself to look after you, but I have important things to do, so Akumi tailed you at a distance. You may think that it was smart of you to leave your phones in your room so that we will not think that you have gone outside, but it only made things more troublesome for Akumi."

"I'm sorry..."

"How come they didn't notice you, Kumi-chin?" Murasakibara asked curiously.

"Yeah, how come, Kurokocchi?"

The girl shrugged. "Well, they were headed for the beach, and there were a lot of bikini-wearing girls out there..." she sighed as the Teikou boys blushed at the image. Kimiko shook her head. "Well, you know Daiki... right? So he followed one of them like a lost puppy, while Tetsuya here noticed that he was gone a little too late."

"Ne, those guys from that school, Kalae...Kalaue..." Kise stumbled over the name of the school that they had gone against – the one with the half-Japanese forward. "That was the first time I saw someone taller than Murasakibaracchi! Almost all of their players were so tall, it was intimidating!"

"It was Kaulaie," Akashi corrected, then with the slightest hint of pride in his voice, he continued, "True, they were taller and more powerful physically, but we won, didn't we?"

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 _The afternoon on their first day in Hawaii, Teikou and Kaulaie practiced their basics and drills on their half of the court. Coach Sanada had been the one initially handling their practice but they were distracted by the other team. It wasn't until Kimiko stepped inside the gym and yelled at them to focus that they managed to stick to their own training. Teikou, who had been the one to strike fear into the hearts of their opponents back home, was now the one who was feeling intimidated. Even Midorima was slightly off with his shots, though they still went in, there was something... wrong... with the way they entered the ring._

 _Akashi, their captain, was the same as usual. There was no doubt, no fear in his eyes even as he gazed at their would-be opponents. Quietly, he followed Sanada's directives with his usual concentration. It calmed his teammates somewhat, but still they needed some form of verbal assurance._

 _Assurance which Kimiko gave them._

 _The moment she saw their less than stellar performance during their practice, she had immediately went over to Sanada to ask permission to take over the supervision for their practice, then called all of them to huddle in the center of their court. She was smiling her scary grin, her trusty clipboard in hand, her hair in a high ponytail due to the heat._

" _Now, what's with the half-assed moves that the lot of you were doing just now?" she asked pleasantly. To the onlookers, it might look like she was just telling them something, based on the tone of her voice and facial expression, but if they could understand Japanese, then they would have known that she was giving them a serious lecture. "Look, I know they're tall and that they speak English which most of you can only barely understand but hey, we took them down last year, we can do it this year as well, can't we? And we will, I am certain of that. I have trust in your capability to win all of our games during this training camp. Understood?"_

" _Hai!"_

 _After the short lecture, the team was feeling lighter. Trust in your capabilities, their coach had told them. Kimiko's smile was her usual game-ready smirk. Leading the cheer, she slung her arms over Akashi's and Midorima's shoulders, bringing them down as all of the members mimicked her actions until they were now forming a circle._

" _You understand what I said earlier?" she asked them, peering at each of their faces to confirm. All of them nodded back at her. "Good. Now, the only thing left to do is to win. Got it?"_

" _Hai!"_

" _Now then," and she raised her voice as she yelled out, "Teikou….!"_

" _KATSU!"_

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"It was after that that I developed my Cyclone Pass," Kuroko said, remembering his talk with Akashi when they retired to their own rooms for the night.

"But, Kurokocchi, you only used it once, right? Why was that?" Kise asked. They'd been talking about having a pass that would cut across the court during their training, before Kimiko had arrived and talked them out of their slump, but Aomine had said that it wouldn't be possible since he'd tried it before, only to fail miserably. So imagine their surprise when Kuroko pulled off that stunt just as their game with Kaulaie was about to end.

"The truth is, the first time was a fluke… Even I was surprised when it worked..."

This admission of Kuroko sent them all into laughter.

"But you know, the first quarter was a horrible one," Kise said with a grave face, making the Teikou players to look at him. "We were overpowered at the start, and the crowd… No one's even cheering for us! It was soooo horrible I don't want a repeat experience!" Murasakibara also looked pissed as if he remembered something unpleasant, and Kimiko explained for him.

"You see, this is what happened back then..."

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" _It really is an away game, ne?" For the first time, Momoi watched their team being the one chasing behind their opponents. Murasakibara had lost in the jump ball, giving the momentum to their opponents as Kaulaie quickly scored to the loud cheers of the spectators. The gym was completely filled up like this was a championship match instead of a mere practice game. It was like this every time Teikou had a match. Lots of people would show up just to watch the Miracles play. The only difference this time is who the crowd is cheering for._

 _Akashi managed a steal, sending their opponents scrambling back to defend. However, when he passed the ball to a completely open Kise, the blond didn't make his shot._

" _Rebound!" Murasakibara was under the basket, but was a little too late to respond to Akashi's order. And even when Aomine tried as well, their height difference was just too much._

" _We're down by nine points," Kuroko murmured beside him. His hands were tight fists on top of his knees. Watching his teammates struggle with their much taller opponents was painful. Akashi himself had scored twice when his teammates had failed to get away from their defenders, something that he doesn't have to do on normal games. There was however, dissatisfaction written on the redhead's face as he looks at his teammates who were obviously not playing in their best. Every time he manages to get close to one of them, he tries to reassure them but due to the fast pace of the game, it was hard to say more than a couple sentences._

 _As they were running back to defend, he passed by Kise who was the most affected. "Kise, calm down or you'll continue to make mistakes. We'll be changing the mood soon."_

" _But it's impossible, Akashicchi! The crowd…and the score..."_

 _Akashi shook his head. "They don't matter," he said, indicating the audience who were loudly cheering for the home team. "As for the score, we'll be changing that."_

" _But how-?"_

 _There was no time to explain so Akashi just offered him a small smile. "Remember what Akumi said yesterday."_

 _On their bench, Coach Sanada was in a discussion with Kimiko about the team's dismal performance. They make an odd picture – a brown-haired man who was clearly agitated over something while the chartreusette was perfectly calm, like their team was not on the verge of losing._

" _We should call a timeout," he said, but Kimiko only raised her brow slightly._

" _It's only the first quarter. Besides, it would be a good experience for them… Something to keep them grounded," she explained cryptically. Perhaps the knowledge that there are other players that are better than them will prevent them from thinking that they are the best while at the same time, it will motivate them to even practice and improve their skills._

" _You don't understand, Kimiko. If the score difference gets bigger, then-"_

 _Akashi ran past their bench, and Kimiko caught his gaze. Something had been said during that silent exchange. Turning back to the man beside her, she said, "That would be unnecessary, Coach Sanada. Seijuurou has a plan, so let's leave this to him."_

" _How can you even be sure of that?" he challenged._

" _He just told me." Kimiko smirked when Sanada look like he might just explode in anger. Already, the other players on the bench were edging away from them in case it did happen. Sometimes, they think that the lime-haired girl was crazy because she was always provoking Sanada. "Come on, coach, chill a little. It's just a practice game."_

" _Even if it is, they cannot afford to lose! Teikou never loses!"_

 _At that, Kimiko rolled her eyes. "Who said anything about losing?" Cradling Midorima's lucky pumpkin on her lap, she gestured with her chin at the court, flashing a thumbs up at the green-haired shooting guard. "Show's starting, by the way."_

 _Akashi had the ball and was easily getting past his defenders with his skillful dribbling. With Kise's screen, Midorima broke free from his man and Akashi passed the ball to his waiting hands. The ball sailed in an impossibly high arc, and their opponents were frozen in place as they waited for the ball to sink or miss, while the Teikou players were already jogging back to defend, knowing perfectly well that Midorima's shots doesn't miss._

 _While the bench-warmers were doing their best to cheer for their team, it was Kimiko's voice that rang the loudest in their ears._

" _Aka-chin, is Kumi-chin going to be okay?" Murasakibara had asked at some point._

" _Heh, she's going to be hoarse by tomorrow," Aomine said with a slight grin as he wiped the sweat off his forehead with his jersey shirt._

" _Don't worry, I brought some medicines if that ever happens, nanodayo," was what Midorima muttered._

" _At this rate, Akumicchi will be mistaken as a cheerleader," Kise sighed, exhausted, yet he was grinning as well._

 _Looking at them, Akashi was able to breath in relief. Took them almost a quarter to wake up, he thought wryly. "Well then, let's not put their efforts to waste. Midorima, I will pass the ball to you. The rest of you will be on defense. Let's go."_

" _Yes!"_

 _For the remaining time, it was Midorima alone who scored for the team, making shot after shot. Even the audience was now amazed by his performance. But what really made them cheer for Teikou is when Akashi passed the ball to Midorima with only three seconds left on the clock._

 _The moment the ball made contact with his hands, Midorima jumped and fired his high-projectile three, landing at the same time the buzzer rang with a deafening sound, marking the end of the grueling first quarter._

 _There was a heartbeat of silence, and shouts and cheers erupted from the stands._

 _Although they were a point behind, Akashi had succeeded in his goal – which is to win over part of the audience to cheer for them._

 _During the short break, in which everyone vacated the bench to give space to their regulars, Kimiko tended to Akashi and Midorima while Momoi fussed with the remaining three, with Kuroko assisting her with Aomine once he finished his warm-up. Kimiko was talking as she worked, thought and action not connected at all._

" _So Ryouta will be subbed out for Tetsuya," she said, handing out a bottle of water to Midorima, "so that you-" she pointed at Kuroko, then to Aomine, "-and you will work your magic, since they'll be watching Shintarou closely now that he's dealt the most damage so far. Atsushi, mind the defense, but do not force yourself. Your match might be taller, but you can outsmart him. This time, the momentum is ours, and it will remain that way until the end. Got it?" They nodded with faces full of determination. "Captain, anything to add?"_

 _Akashi handed his bottle back to her. "None. You've said everything,_ Coach _."_

 _Kimiko laugh at the emphasis on her title, then gave the redhead a rough pat on the back. "Off you go,_ Captain~"

 _The rest of the team stood up as they huddled once more._

" _Teikou…!"_

" _KATSU!"_

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"Since they were focusing on guarding Midorima, Kuroko's skill became even more effective, and that is how we managed to pull ahead of Kaulaie," explained Akashi. "By coordinating my passes with Kuroko, we were able to score freely since the one scoring is not the one they expected."

"In short, we messed up their defense," Kimiko said with a smirk.

"Is it true that you cannot see Kuroko-senpai when he's playing?" asked.

Their _senpais_ looked at the said phantom, then at one another.

"Something like that~" Murasakibara said. "But even when we're not playing, Kuro-chin is hard to find~"

"Then, how can Akashi-senpai coordinate his passes with him?" Akihiko wondered.

"I can see him on and off court," Akashi's reply was short, but that only made his _kouhais_ more in awe of him.

"Hmm, let's just say Seijuurou has a glorious amount of perception..."joked Kimiko. "Anyway, the second quarter of that match was a surprise for the Hawaiian team – I bet they didn't expect to deal with an invisible player, eh?"

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 _With Kuroko taking Kise's position, Teikou was able to take the lead by misleading the opposition with Akashi's carefully calculated passes. And with Kaulaie still wary of Midorima's long-range three-pointers, Teikou spread their defense even further by utilizing Kuroko and Aomine's combined plays. Despite their fast reflexes, the ball was still able to get to Aomine, who had no problems with scoring for the team. Pulling ahead with a nine-point difference, Kaulaie still managed to narrow it down to a four-point difference, ending the first half with the score of 48-44 in Teikou's favor._

 _During halftime, Sanada was ranting about the close score, with Kimiko ignoring him as usual. After he was done lecturing_ his _players (who were not even listening to him – though Akashi pretended that he was), Kimiko took over with her usual cheer, giving advice and pointing out some weak points that they can further exploit which she had come up with Momoi's help, and just basically chatting up the team. There was none of Sanada's complaints about their supposed carelessness for letting Kaulaie close the gap. Kimiko was actually glad that Kaulaie was putting up quite a fight – it was nice seeing everyone with eyes burning with the thrill and determination at having to face such a powerful team. It was a nice change from the teams back in Japan, who easily cowers in the face of the reigning champions, like hearing the name "Teikou" saps their fighting spirit, making them give up even when the game has not yet started._

" _More honeyed lemons?" Kimiko offered, holding a plastic container in her hands. Akashi turned his head and she was quick to spear a slice using a toothpick and handing it over to him. The rest of them followed, and they spent the rest of their break munching on the yellow treats until the whistle blew._

" _You two, get some rest," Kimiko indicated at the shadow-and-light duo, "Ryou-kun and Kageyama, you're up."_

 _Without Kuroko to redirect his passes, Akashi switched to a more strategic play style, fully utilizing his teammates as he made them do screens, fakes, and other combination plays to throw Kaulaie off their game. The redhead never made the same play twice, and there never really was a pattern to his game plan, so you can never really what he was planning to do next. With his perfect court vision, Akashi is well aware of everyone's position on court. One moment he had the ball and then in a blink of an eye, he'd be passing it off to someone without even looking._

" _Satsuki, tend to Daiki, please," Kimiko told the pinkette who was folding the towels. Shirking her job to the other bench players, Kimiko drummed her fingernails on the plastic surface of her clipboard. "He's doing it again."_

 _By 'doing it again', Kimiko meant Aomine getting in a state of utmost concentration that nothing mattered to him but the game alone, he's body going on autopilot while his mind is in overdrive._ Now if he could just have the same level of concentration during lessons, _Momoi sighed, unfortunately, the only thing that can capture Aomine's focus like this is basketball._

 _That and nothing else._

 _Even as the pinkette changed the ice pack on the ace's neck, he didn't even as much flinch._

 _Only when Kimiko lightly jabbed his forehead did Aomine blink._

" _W-what..?"_

 _The chartreusette was unsure whether or not to feel exasperated or proud. Or maybe both? "Aho, third-quarter's over… Still a four-point lead. I'm sending you and Tetsuya back in, think you can handle another quarter?" The question was mostly aimed at the bluenette since his stamina wasn't really that great, plus the two had practiced late last night and had barely slept._

" _We can handle it, right, Tetsu?" Aomine held a fist to his partner, who smiled and bumped his own fist against Aomine's._

" _Are you going to be fine, Kuroko?" The returning Akashi asked the bluenette, who silently answered positively._

 _Kimiko turned on the three who had been out there for three straight quarters. "How about you guys? Shintarou, Atsushi?" With a towel in hand, she reached out to Akashi who had taken the seat nearest to where she was standing. With gentle fingers, she rubbed the cloth over his damp hair, then trailing it downwards to press it against his neck to dry the beads of sweat gathered on his pale skin. "Seijuurou?"_

 _His name was murmured softly, as if they were meant for his ears only, and though Akashi knows that she knows his limits perfectly, it warmed him just hearing her ask if he was okay._

 _He nodded, trying hard not to lean into her touch that was so calming, refreshing. "Of course."_

" _Still have ammunition to toss against them?" she teased lightly, her hands automatically massaging his shoulders._

 _He scoffed. "I have unlimited supply, Akumi."_

" _It seems that you have a shortage of modesty, though."_

 _Ruby eyes twinkled in mirth. "I'm afraid I don't know what that is. Care to tell me about it later?"_

 _The laughter he got in return was a satisfying reward. "Aa, after you win this one."_

" _I expect a thorough explanation on the said subject on the way to the hotel then."_

 _As the whistle sounded once more for the final quarter, Kimiko gave his shoulder one last squeeze before her eyes sought out Aomine's. She was aware of the circumstances that one of the players of Kaulaie was facing, and though she was not that cruel to purposefully crush his dreams knowing that basketball was also dear to him, she was fully certain that that player wouldn't accept their pity. Without hesitance, she looked their ace straight in the eye, and issued her order._

" _Defeat them."_

 _Despite losing the lead in the last two quarters, Kaulaie was still alive and fighting, and there was nothing more that motivates Aomine than facing serious opponents. He was almost feral to look at, despite the grin on his face. Cornered, the home team fought with such ferocity that the score hung in a precarious balance with a gap just a basket away from the other. Everyone – the audience, Kaulaie's bench, Teikou's bench – was holding their breath as they watched the two teams battle it out on court like their lives were at stake. In a way, it was – Teikou's reputation on one side and the dream of Kaulaie's power forward on the other._

 _The frustration and anticipation reached sky high when it came to the last minute of the quarter, with Teikou just ahead by one point. It was Kaulaie's ball, and they were being cautious while killing time. There's no way that they will allow an overtime. With sheer luck, they actually managed to trick Aomine with a splendid fake, tipping the score to their favor._

 _With six seconds remaining, Kaulaie was certain that they had already won._

 _Heck, everyone inside the gym thought that Kaulaie had won._

 _Except for the five players in white-and-light blue jerseys on the court and a golden-eyed girl sitting on the opposite bench._

 _Kimiko murmured to herself the same exact words that Teikou's phantom sixth man said as he stood outside of the end line, the ball in his hand._

" _It's not over yet."_

 _Several things happened at once. The Kaulaie team, who were already celebrating their victory right in the middle of the court, were caught off guard as the Teikou players burst into action all at once. Surely, it would be impossible to get the ball across the court in such a short time -_

 _Akashi already knew this coming and nudged Aomine in the side._

" _Run." A single word, stated so simply like they were not on the verge of losing by a mere point, but such was his trust in his teammates._

 _With a strength that belied his appearance, Kuroko sent the ball flying across the court at such speed that interference was near impossible. Kaulaie can only look in disbelief as Teikou's ace received the pass with a loud cry of satisfaction._

" _ALL RIGHT!"_

 _And with a mighty dunk from Aomine, Teikou secured their victory, 75-74._

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"I really thought that we were going to lose!" Kise confided out loud. He'd been seated during the fourth quarter, and had shot up in disbelief when Kaulaie managed to take the lead at the last minute. Actually, everyone on their bench had reacted strongly to the sudden overturn, all except their first-string coach. In fact, he remembered Kimiko looking bored, like she was waiting for someone to do something.

"I was surprised that Akashi-kun let me do it," Kuroko said. As he had displayed during the Winter Cup, full-court passes are also included in the redhead's arsenal, that's why at the time, Kuroko was inwardly freaking out when Akashi told him to receive the ball for the inbound. "I was certain that I informed Akashi-kun before the match that despite our late night practice, I was unable to do it with such distance."

"But you succeeded, did you not?" Akashi told him, looking past Kimiko who was between them. "Aomine was your partner, so it was only fitting that you give the ball to him."

 _Wow, Akashi-san really believes in his teammates…_ Akihiko thought at the exchange between the captain and the phantom. He felt slightly guilty for not quite feeling the same way about his own teammates. If he was in Akashi's position, he wouldn't have allowed Kuroko to do it, for fear that he might actually fail. _And then the team will lose…_

"The other teams we fought after that were pretty easy to beat, bragging aside… The only interesting thing that happened after that was -"

"The barbecue party, right, Kumi-chin~?"

Golden eyes flickered to Murasakibara's dreamy face at the recollection of the tasty grilled meat that was served during the party.

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 _On the last day of training camp, all three teams convened at the hotel grounds for the barbecue party, a tradition to foster camaraderie and friendship among the players as well as a reward for their hard work during the training camp. Though they do not speak the same language, the boys were able to put all differences aside as they crowded over the grills in a bid to get the first serving of the delicious meat._

 _Akashi eyed the crowd around the grills with hidden distaste – it was above him to join the fray and fight over food, though the rest of his teammates do not have the same mindset as him. Moving away from the rambunctious group of teenage boys, he went over to where the vegetables where and gotten himself a few; Kuroko was doing the same, although he was sure that Aomine would give him some meat later, seeing that he had unloaded some of his haul on Momoi's plate when he passed her by._

 _He'll get his own once everyone has gotten their share, he thought as he nibbled on a carrot._

" _You're not seriously eating just that, are you, Seijuurou?"_

 _Akashi paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. "Akumi."_

 _He felt a tug on his arm before he can face her. "Sit down, it's just sand," the girl told him. He obliged, feeling slightly conscious of himself. He looked at her, eyes widening in surprise when he saw the pile of meat on her plate. "Here," she transferred half of its contents on his own, shaking her head when he tried to tell her that he was going to get some himself later. "Don't worry, I didn't fought my way to get these," she gestured with her meat skewer. Biting into the grilled beef, she paused then added, "I asked Atsushi to get me some, but he must have forgotten that I was a girl and ended up giving me this much." Her eyes were shining with the sunset's reflection as she smiled at him. "Thought I'd share, you know."_

 _He can only nod at her. "Thanks."_

 _She bumped her shoulder against his, rocking his balance slightly. "Eat up, Seijuurou… I know you're starviiiiing~"_

" _Perhaps," Akashi turned his gaze back to the sea, dyed red and orange by the dying rays of the sun, the light setting his scarlet hair aflame. He bit into the meat and relished in its rich flavor, for once not minding the fact that grilled meat is not exactly on the top of his diet list. There was only comfortable silence as they ate, their mouths too busy to talk to each other._

 _He didn't notice Kimiko was staring at him until she ask him with another merry grin._

" _Tastes good?"_

" _Aa," he replied, just as Aomine's cry reached their ears._

" _Hey, Tetsu, Tiki, they're frying Kobe meat over here!" he yelled at his two companions who were sitting near the beach. He pointed behind him. "It's first come, first serve so hurry your asses up!"_

 _Kimiko hurriedly stood up as well, then cupped her hands over her mouth as she shouted to Aomine up ahead, "Oi, baka, leave some for me!" And then she was off, racing through the sand, but not before leaning down to tell him excitedly, "Did you hear that? I'll go get us some. Wait here."_

 _She was gone before he can stop her, and as he glanced down on his empty plate, he blinked. Was he that... hungry? He didn't even realize that he had finished all those meat that Kimiko had given him, and now she was off to get them another serving._

 _He heard her as she approached him; it seemed that something funny had occurred while she was getting their food._

" _I should have gone instead of you, Akumi," he said, feeling slightly miffed that the chartreusette was the one doing the fetching. It seemed rather ungentlemanly for him._

" _Don't be so uptight, Seijuurou," tutted Kimiko, then handed the plate to him and getting a skewer for herself before resuming her seat by his side. Her head came to rest on his shoulder, a welcome weight and not the least uncomfortable to the redhead. She motioned at the sea. "Ne, it's beautiful, isn't it?"_

" _Indeed, it is."_

" _Can't believe we're heading back to Japan tomorrow morning," she sighed. "I kinda like it here..."_

 _He laughed under his breath. "But home is Japan, isn't it?"_

 _To his surprise, she shook her head, "Depends. What was it that they say…? 'Home is where the heart is'… Don't you agree, Seijuurou?"_

" _And your heart is in Hawaii…?" he asked after he swallowed his food, and almost missed her murmured reply to the sound of the waves._

" _Right now, it is."_

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After the dinner, the group were now standing outside the restaurant, waiting for the bus that will be taking the Teikou team back to their quarters.

"Akumi-senpai, I..."

Kimiko paused and looked at the boy who was fidgeting uneasily in front of her. "What is it, Matsuoka?"

"Ano, someone gave us this flyer when we were in the park yesterday," the magenta-haired freshman said, thrusting a piece of paper to her. "We thought you'd be interested..."

Streetball Tournament, it read in bold letters. Kimiko grinned. It will be held on Thursday, and there are two categories: 2-on-2 and 3-on-3, lasting 30 minutes each. Just quick, fun matches to pass the time for those who were free or wanting to challenge the other teams they weren't able to play against in the official tournament lineup.

"Thanks, kid. Planning to join?" she asked, and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder in an older sister way.

"We have a game in the afternoon, so we will be watching in the morning. Shirogane-kantoku said we might learn something."

"I'll give you something worth watching, then… Seijuurou!"

Akashi was talking to Kuroko when Kimiko called him from where she was standing among the Teikou players. Calmly, he walked towards her, with Kuroko, Kise, and Murasakibara following him out of curiosity. The girl did not even allow him to speak as she practically shoved a piece of paper in his face in her excitement, making him lean back a little as his eyes focused on the writing.

"You want us to join in that?"

"To be specific, I want you and _me_ to join in the doubles," she replied with a determined glint in her eyes.

Akashi was reluctant, though. It's not that he's scared of losing or something; he's worried about Kimiko's safety. In basketball, there are times when the game gets physical, much more when it is streetball, which emphasizes flashy moves and stunts.

"Come on, Seijuurou, this will be fun~!" she insisted.

If he did agree, then this will be the first time that he will be playing with only Kimiko as his teammate.

If he refused, Kimiko can easily drag someone else to be her teammate.

Akashi cannot allow that to happen.

So against his better judgment, the redhead found himself nodding.

"Yosh! Let's do our best!"

While Kimiko was cheering happily, Akashi was mentally kicking himself in annoyance.

 _What have I done?_

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— **木** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **11** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Wakayama, Japan ****

 **和歌山** **、** **日本**

"Wow..." Kimiko stared at the people crowding around the outdoor courts that will be used for the streetball tournament. There was a large turnout, and a lot of the Nationals players have come as well, either to watch, join or cheer for their teammates. Kaijou, Seirin, and Yosen is there, huddled on one corner. The moment Rakuzan made their entrance, though, almost everyone stopped and stared as Akashi led his team to the registration table. He signed up for his event with Kimiko, then made way for Mibuchi to register on the 3-on-3 with his fellow Uncrowned Generals. Mayuzumi was there to watch – or to read, seeing that he has brought his light novel along with him.

"Akumi-san, you're playing with Akashi-kun?" Kuroko asked with the barest hint of surprise in his voice, the equivalent of him shouting in shock. It was the only reason he can think of when he saw the matching outfit of the two before him – Akashi in a white shirt and black jersey shorts, while Kimiko had on a black shirt and white shorts. They look like Yin and Yang.

"Seriously?" Kagami exclaimed, gaining the attention of everyone around them. Akashi can only sigh at the unwanted attention and sent a half-hearted glare to the smiling girl who was spinning a basketball on her fingertip.

"Yes, I am," she confirmed with a smug grin. "Anyone got a problem with that?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Good," she said with a smile. "Boys are not the only ones who play basketball, you know."

"We're on the third match, Akumi," Akashi told her. "Let's talk about our strategy, then."

"Okay."

Akashi and Kimiko sat on the grass a little ways from the large group composed of the four teams, and on a small white board that Kimiko took out from her drawstring bag, she and Akashi took turns drawing plays, sometimes even bickering like children when Akashi disapproves of her plans.

"It's too risky," Akashi was saying. "What if he bumps into or pushes you?"

"None of that, Seijuurou," Kimiko answered, pulling her hair up in high ponytail before taking the marker from Akashi's hands. "It's a brilliant play, admit it."

"They really are playing, eh?" Kuroko murmurs as he watched the couple fighting over the marker like a pair of toddlers. I wonder who will be their lucky – or should I say, unlucky opponents?

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"What a coincidence," Kimiko mutters when she sees their opponent for their game. The moment they step inside the court, they were greeted by catcalls and loud shouts by the male audience. The cheering and whistles further increased when Himuro and Murasakibara came in as recognition dawned on the spectators and remembered her from the famous magazine, though everyone was puzzled at the girl's presence on the court; even the referee was looking at the chartreusette with hesitation.

Possession was determined by a coin toss, which Akashi clearly won, and he threw the ball to a smirking Kimiko, just as Himuro stood to guard him, leaving Murasakibara to face the chartreusette. The particular match-up elicited hoots and laughter from the audience due to the height difference.

"Yo, Atsushi," she greeted Yosen's center who grinned lightly at her.

Moving in a defensive stance, Murasakibara said, "I'm not going easy on you, Kumi-chin~" to which the girl replied with a cocky smirk, despite the obvious height disadvantage.

"You better not, Atsushi. I'll get angry if you do."

Kimiko was dribbling the ball almost lazily, and when Murasakibara attempted a steal, she surprised him by pulling an impressive ankle-break on him Akashi-style off the bat and as he lost his balance, she took a step out of the three-point line and fired a fade-away three-pointer, sending the crowd in a frenzy.

"Nice shot," Akashi said as they high-fived as they ran to defend their goal. Kimiko kept a close guard on the purple-haired giant while Akashi faced Himuro outside the line. It was obvious that they will be aiming for a three as well, and Himuro knows that Akashi knows that. He was thinking of using his Mirage Shot, hoping that the redhead will not be fast enough to do anything. Unfortunately, Akashi was able to steal the ball from him the moment he dropped into the triple-threat position.

" _Kuso_!" Himuro cursed and in that moment, Murasakibara broke free and dashed after his former captain and blocked Akashi who was about to execute a lay-up. When his fingertips were inches away from the ball, Akashi tossed it backwards without looking, landing the ball perfectly in his partner's waiting hands.

"Muro-chin!" Murasakibara yelled at him. Himuro made the mistake of not sticking close to his man that he was late to react when Kimiko tossed the ball towards the ring carelessly.

 _An alley_ - _oop_?!

The Yosen duo watched as Akashi dunked the ball gracefully, making the score 5-0 in their favor.

The redhead looks a bit annoyed though. Walking over to the sheepish-looking girl, he growled out, "What was that?"

"Uhmm, I wanted to see you dunk?" she replied as Akashi sighed. It was only thanks to his quick reflexes that he was able to catch the ball in time.

"Tch." He shook his head as she grinned at him as they continued with the game.

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Himuro dribbled forward, intent to score a basket when he sensed his pursuer drawing closer. Kimiko was smiling as she blocked him easily, and he found himself grinning back at her.

"So we face off again, Kimiko," he said, trying to catch her off-guard, because to be honest, the girl really knows how to play the game, and she plays well.

"Indeed, Tatsuya," she replied, gold eyes glinting. "I didn't expect you and Atsushi to be our opponent, though."

Himuro merely hummed, a plan forming in his mind. Stepping back, he faked to the left – it was executed perfectly that Kimiko fell for it for a split second – but that's all Himuro needed to break free from her defense. She managed to catch up to him, though, just as he fired the ball for a normal three-pointer. Kimiko jumped to intercept it, her hand knocking into his wrist, causing Himuro's eyes to widen in shock as the ball bounced on the rim.

The referee called a foul, but the two were frozen, eyes on the ball.

 _Don't fall out, don't fall out..._

"Damn!" Kimiko laughed as the ball rolled once, and went _inside_ the hoop. She frowned slightly as she gazed at her hand as they lined up for the free throw.

Two minutes and the score is 5-4, in favor of Akashi and Kimiko.

"Nice try," Akashi teased as they ran side by side, the Yosen duo already waiting for them on the other end of the court. He did not expect her to be able to reach that high. Perhaps it was just an adrenaline rush.

The girl stuck her tongue out childishly at him. "Tch. You wait and see – I'll get the next basket."

She dribbled low, her face set in concentration as Murasakibara was on her again. Unfazed by his height, the center saw her smirk at him before she slipped past him, dashing off to his right only to fake it at the last moment as she spun around, avoiding his arms and jumped up to pull a tricky hook shot. The ball went in, and the crowd cheered loudly to the point that it was almost deafening.

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"Atsushi, don't lower your guard on her," Himuro berated his teammate after the first half. Wiping the sweat off his face, he glanced at the scoreboard.

48-39.

A nine-point lead.

Himuro clicked his tongue. The height advantage over their opponents wasn't exactly an advantage – Kimiko was slippery as an eel as she managed to throw off her defenders every time and Akashi was, well, Akashi. No need to explain further. The only reason that they weren't that behind in points is the fact that it was Kimiko attacking most of the time, with the redhead assisting every now and then. Had Akashi been playing seriously, it would be no surprise if they cannot even land a single shot.

He found himself staring at the other side of the court, where their opponents are, and saw an amused Akashi and a pouting Akumi. They seemed to be arguing about something. He saw Akashi reach out and flick her nose, to which Kimiko retaliated by throwing her towel at the redhead. Akashi simply caught it and used it to wipe the beads of sweat on her forehead. It was then that Himuro turned away, unable to look any longer without feeling jealous.

Thankfully, the whistle blew, signaling the start of the second half. As they stood up, Himuro said to Murasakibara, "You guard Kimiko, and I'll take care of Akashi." His tone was final, leaving no room for discussion.

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Akashi narrowed his eyes at the approaching pair. At the toss coin, they got possession again, only this time, Akashi did not hand it over to his partner. Something feels... off.

"Akashi."

The redhead turned and saw Himuro approaching. He recognized the challenging look in the mirage shooter's eyes immediately.

"I see," Akashi said simply as he met the older boy's gaze. First, Kise, then here comes Himuro. From his periphery, he can see Kimiko talking to a pouting Murasakibara. _Seriously_ , _Akumi_ …

"I am interested in Kimiko," Himuro stated, and saw the way the redhead's eyes narrow in a mixture of amusement and annoyance.

"And?"

Himuro gritted his teeth at the obvious display of confidence and nonchalance from the redhead. "Thought I should let you know, that's all."

"Why?" Akashi asked, dribbling the ball carefully, mindful of the time on the shot clock. When Himuro failed to respond, Akashi smirked and attacked, almost toying with him as he dribbled the ball almost like Aomine, fast and low to the ground. Picking up the pace, he dribbled faster only to straighten up, the ball nowhere in sight for a second. Kimiko was running towards them, Murasakibara hot on her heels. With an elbow pass behind his back, Akashi sent the ball to her waiting hands, then as Himuro tried to stop her by blocking her way, the girl simply passed the ball back to Akashi who was standing outside the line by bouncing it through the gap between Himuro's legs.

Akashi landed an easy three, amid the crowd's cheering at their display of skill.

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"I didn't know Akashi also knows how to do those tricks," Kagami grumbled, watching with the other three teams. Kise was the one nearest to him, since the blond ace of Kaijou always seem to gravitate to whoever from the _Kiseki_ was present. Kise was also surprised as well. Akashi had always played point guard during their Teikou years and had faithfully stuck to his role, content with making assists and plays instead of scoring himself.

At first glance, Akashi seemed to be the most normal in comparison to the rest of the _Kiseki_. Murasakibara is freakishly tall and played center, blocking all those shots and making all those monstrous dunks. Midorima is deadly accurate with his high-arc three pointers, and his defense is not something to joke about either. Aomine is stunning with his flashy moves to the point of ridiculousness, and his speed is not something to be easily matched. Kise, though he was considered to be the weakest of the _Kiseki_ back then, was like a second version of Aomine, although his talents lie in copying other people's moves, making him an unnerving all-around player. As for Akashi –

Akashi was just there, calmly dribbling the ball at every start of the match, making sure to get the ball to where it was supposed to be. His plays were simple but the underlying logic behind them was not to be taken lightly. It was just like when he stopped Kagami's Meteor Jam back in the first quarter of the Winter Cup Finals. To a normal spectator, it may seem like nothing, but if you really delve deeper into it, you'll see just how fast and brilliant Akashi's mind works. Add in those eyes that never miss a single detail, and you get a demon of a point guard.

In all his three years in Teikou, Akashi had never shown anything flamboyant like that fancy streetball – and Himuro was not the only who was surprised when Akashi caught that alley-oop from Mayuzumi as well.

All of them had already displayed their full potential, but the question is: When will they get to see Akashi's full array of skills?

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Himuro was angry – angry at himself for not being good enough - why was he not good enough?

The game had just ended in their loss. With a 25-point deficit. With Akashi getting serious at the second half and handling all the defense by himself and leaving the offense to Kimiko, who – surprise, surprise! - has never missed a single shot, landing all those three-pointers with grace. Like she channeled her inner Midorima or something.

 _When will he be good enough?_

They shook hands, thanking each other for a good game, but Himuro was inwardly fuming. He felt like he'd been mocked, belittled – Akashi had handled the two of them with ease…. Even Murasakibara was no match from the pressure that Akashi had unleashed on the two of them.

 _Will I ever be good enough?_

Kimiko was now leaving the court with Akashi at her side, gracing the welcoming committee waiting for her at the exit of the court. They were the Teikou players, and they were cheering loudly as they congratulated their _senpais_ on their victory.

"Muro-chin, let's go, the next game is about to start." There was the Kuroko-Kagami duo against the captain and ace of Kaijou making their way to the side where the referee was. With a grunt of displeasure, Himuro followed his teammate, ignoring Kimiko who called out to him as they passed by.

"Muro-chin, Kumi-chin was –"

"Save it, Atsushi," was all he said, before he stalked out of the park and went off to somewhere to cool his head, not seeing the concerned gaze that Murasakibara and Kimiko was giving him.

The chartreusette sidled next to the purplehaired boy who promptly congratulated her. She thanked him and then asked, "Atsushi, is Tatsuya…?"

Murasakibara can only shake his head sadly in response. "I don't know, Kumi-chin..."

 _Tatsuya, what's wrong?_

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 _What was that all about?_ Akashi asked his other 'persona', who suddenly decided to take over when that mirage shooter declared his interest towards the chartreusette. He wouldn't have done all those stunts had he been in his original self – not that he needed to anyway. What was supposed to be an easygoing game suddenly turned into an intense smackdown.

 _ **Huh. Hardly, seeing that we trashed them. I could have slaughtered them if I wanted to.**_

 _And what made you hold back?_

 _ **She wouldn't like it.**_

Still, he could see that Kimiko was worried over the Yosen player, even as they now watched Kise and Kuroko's match. The Kaijou pair was dominating the game, and it helped that Kasamatsu was getting familiar with Kuroko's presence. He was, after all, the one who beat the Phantom Shot.

"Kise is getting his revenge on those two," Akashi said, shifting the girl's attention to him.

"Looks like it. It's sad that Yukio-senpai will be graduating soon – Kise really looked up to him as his captain in Kaijou."

"I wonder who's going to replace him, though." She glanced at the Kaijou team nearby, eyeing the one who was the cheering loudly for his teammates, although his words were lost to Kimiko. She looked back at Akashi. "What do you think?"

He looked slightly troubled. When Kaijou's two seniors leave for University this year, the only regulars left would be that loud guy, Kise, and that flirty shooting guard, then there's that silver-haired one as well. Unless they have other players that Akashi hasn't seen yet, Kaijou's future was looking a bit... dark.

"Well, let's just hope one of them matures enough to take the responsibility next year, eh?" Kimiko said hopefully, just as Hayakawa screamed something incomprehensible with that speech of his, making the two of them wince at the volume.

Akashi nodded at her. "Let's hope for the best."

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 ****Tokyo, Japan****

 **東京、日本**

Akashi Masaomi held a printout of the schedule of the Nationals. His finger traced the name of a certain school in Kyoto, looking at the results of all their matches which ended in overwhelming victory with a large point gap over their opponents. A proud smile, which he quickly hid behind his usual indifferent facade, appeared on his lips for a merest fraction of a second.

 _That boy._ He thought of his only son, with hair and eyes just like his mother, dribbling that orange ball with his small hands as he accompanied his mother on her daily morning walks around the courtyard of the manor. He's always so lively, so cheerful whenever he's with her, quick to laugh, to smile, to hug. But with his own father, he's too guarded, too somber, too quiet. It was like being with a stranger.

He picked up the phone on his desk and called his secretary.

"Make sure everything is ready for my departure to Wakayama after lunch."

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	35. 第35章

**Author's Note:** Lots of changes will be made starting this chapter because as a lot of the readers have pointed out in the original version, there was a dissonance with Akashi and Kimiko's actions to their words and as The Emperor's Empress confessed to me while we were discussing about my adoption of the story, she herself felt that she rushed the story - and that she was not happy with the last few chapters that she had written. And I am hoping that I will be able to correct that.

So anyways, read on and tell me what you think!

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **35** **章**

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— **木** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **11** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Wakayama, Japan ****

 **和歌山** **、** **日本**

 _The ball hit the side of the rim._

"Kuso _," Kise cursed under his breath as he went after the ball that had rolled to a stop on the far left of the court. Sighing heavily, he bent down to pick up the ball and started to dribble it lazily with his right hand. Taking his position at the free throw line, he aimed for the hoop again._

 _The ball missed._

"Kuso _!" Kise snarled this time, glaring at the hoop like it was the hoop's fault that he missed the shot, before dragging his feet to retrieve the ball._

Not good at all.

 _Deciding that he was too distracted to even shoot an easy free throw that he could land any other day even with his eyes closed, Kise decided to take a seat on the nearby bench to rest. He had woken up at five in the morning and seeing that his roommate, Kasamatsu, was still sleeping, he decided to leave a note on the bedside table to inform his captain that he had gone out to take a jog in the nearby sports facility. It was a good thing that no one was using it when Kise came in, so that no one would witness the amount of mistakes that he had made when he tried to practice basketball by himself._

 _The reason for his distraction was a certain golden-eyed girl who had been on his mind since last night's dinner with the Teikou team. Even though the food and the topic of their conversation were very interesting, it was not enough to keep his mind and his eyes from straying to Kimiko, who was (as expected), the center of attention that night. She was a very good storyteller, and it gave the former Teikou player a rush of nostalgia of their innocent days._

 _He sighed miserably.._

 _Why can't it stay that way?_

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After their match, Kise and Kuroko were greeted by cheers and praise from their _kouhais_ in Teikou. Their game against the light and shadow duo was intense yet fun, and after Kimiko's appearance on the court, the crowd had increased considerably, hoping to get a glimpse of the mysterious model that rocked the fashion scene of Japan since the release of the magazine earlier that week, and now, it seems that she was also after the hard court as well.

" _Omedeto,_ Kise-senpai!"

"Great game, Kuroko-senpai!"

"Kise-sama, _aishiteru~!_ "

That loud shout was from the females in the audience, who had flocked to the venue to see their beloved idol play. As it was, every time Kise makes a shot or a steal, cheers would erupt from his fans, making it seem like Kise had brought a squad of cheerleaders with him.

Being the appreciative person he is, Kise smiled at his supportive fans and waved at them.

Cue more squealing from his fan girls.

Standing with his team, Matsuoka sweatdropped at the sheer volume of the noise. _I don't know if I should be amazed or what,_ he thought.

As he looked on, he saw Kimiko approach the quartet and handed them a bottle of Pocari each. " _Yuushou omedetou!_ " He heard her say to Kaijou's ace, who considerably brightened upon hearing the words. Even the blank-faced phantom allowed a rare smile to adorn his lips when the girl turned to praise him as well for the display of skill on the court earlier. Even for him who had just met the two former Teikou players, he can feel that the smile they gave to the chartreusette was not one that they give to other people.

One doesn't have to be a genius to know that the golden-eyed girl is someone precious to the _Kiseki no Sedai,_ and vice versa.

 _How nice it would be to have such friendship like them,_ was the boy's last thought before Shirogane called them to leave already.

"Coach, let me say goodbye to Akumi-senpai first!"

Shirogane looked at him with a knowing gaze. "Alright." _Really, that girl can't help but attract all of them to her,_ the silver-haired man thought as the four freshmen that Kimiko had mentored ran to her where she was headed to where Akashi was waiting for her, the Kaijou and Seirin quartet behind her.

"Akumi-senpai!" Matsuoka called out, skidding to a stop before the girl, his friends not far behind. Everyone was looking at him with curious eyes.

"Is there something you need from Akumi?" Akashi asked them, though not unkindly.

Minazuki shook his head. "We just want to thank her for giving us a great game to watch today. A-and you as well, Akashi-senpai," he said in a hurry, although it seemed like he just added Akashi as an afterthought, a notion that amused the redhead greatly.

"Eh, Arata, no need for that," Kimiko said with a grin.

"How about me and Kurokocchi?" Kise asked with mock hurt, which of course sent the ever polite Minazuki to offer his gratitude to them as well. Kuroko admonished Kise for playing the boy like that while Kimiko only laughed as Akashi looked on in amusement.

"Since you're leaving already, I have to say goodbye to Shirogane-san as well."

"I'll go with you," Akashi said, and Kise and Kuroko voiced their desire to tag along as well.

" _Yosha! Iku zo!_ " She cheered, snagging Murasakibara on their way to their former coach where he stood with the rest of the Teikou team.

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Akashi glanced at Kimiko from the corner of his eye. The girl was busy cheering for his teammates who were facing the other three players of Yosen. As expected, the Uncrowned Generals were more skilled than them, but it was obvious that both sides were just playing for fun, and it seemed that nobody's paying attention to the score board. Murasakibara had joined them just as the game started, with Himuro nowhere in sight. Every now and then, Kimiko's hand would stray to the bag of chips in Murasakibara's grip, who had no problem with sharing his food with the chartreusette. He had offered some to Akashi as well, but the redhead politely declined, as he is not too fond of snacks. Akashi was mostly silent while Kimiko chatted with Murasakibara about his team and Akita.

"I want to visit Akita again," Kimiko sighed when Murasakibara shared his winter experience in his prefecture. Unlike in Tokyo where it hardly snows in winter, Akita is a snow paradise to Kimiko, who was an absolute fan of snowball fights.

Murasakibara chuckled at her. On the rare times that the snowfall makes it possible to have a snowball fight, Kimiko always drags the team out and starts a free-for-all fight (although she always recruits Midorima to her side). He remembered the first time the chartreusette orchestrated such an activity with the whole team.

 _It was a particularly cold winter in Tokyo, and all the students of Teikou were all bundled up in their coats and scarves on their way home. The same can be said for the basketball club. Akashi, who had gone to to the staff room to submit some files to Shirogane bumped into Murasakibara on the way to the gate, where the rest of their friends were probably waiting for them so that they can go home together._

 _Murasakibara and Akashi approached the gates, one of the last few students to leave the campus. Murasakibara was busy eating_ maiubo _while Akashi was engrossed in a book (a wonder why he haven't tripped on anything yet)_ , _when all of a sudden, Akashi paused and used the book to swat at the air in front of him._

 _A wet splat sounded as the snowball collided with the book's cover._

 _Murasakibara tensed. After he and the rest of the freshmen dominated the first string and easily replaced the current regulars except for Nijimura, the senior members of their club were less than happy and some openly expressed their dislike against them. No one had dared to lay a hand on them, except for a few dirty glares and grumbles of discontent, but seeing the almost abandoned state of the campus, it would be easy to ambush them - the redhead especially, since despite being a first-year, Nijimura himself had chosen him to be his vice-captain, something that was approved by the head coach but not by Nijimura's year mates._

" _Aka-chin," Murasakibara called in an apprehensive tone, seeing the tense shoulders of the shorter male as he scanned the area around them, trying to find the culprit behind the attack._

" _Stand back, Murasakibara,"_ _Akashi said. He was of the same thought that the person - or persons - behind it was after him, and not Murasakibara. "Try to find the others."_ _They had gone first, and seeing that the gate was vacated, it's either they decided to go home without them._

 _That or the culprit had gone after them._

 _Akashi narrowed his eyes._ If something bad happened to them, then-

 _The bushes near the gate rustled, making the two of them to tense, and then a head popped out, covered by a black bonnet in the shape of a cat anime character._

 _Akashi almost growled at the grinning face of the one and only training manager of Teikou's first string basketball club._

 _The girl looked at him and loudly declared, "_ Omaenoaitewaoreda _~ (I am your opponent~)", which elicited an exasperated sigh from the redhead. She was pointing at him in a challenging manner while she tossed a snowball up and down in her other hand._

" _Akumi..." he said, fighting the urge to roll his eyes at the girl's childishness._

 _Kimiko laughed, and four other heads popped out from the bushes._

" _Damn it, you almost got him," Aomine grumbled. "If only that book did not get in the way..."_

" _Akashi-kun has fast reflexes," Momoi said, writing something in her notebook and checking her watch. "To be able to react in less than a second..."_

" _Indeed," Kuroko said in agreement, his nose red from the cold. "I just hope that the snow did not ruin the book's cover."_

 _Midorima pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he removed a leaf that had gotten tangled in his scarf. "The book's cover is made of plastic. You don't have to -"_

 _-_ SPLAT.

"Yatta! _"_ _Kimiko pumped a fist into the air, cackling like an evil witch._

 _Aomine joined in her cheer. "_ Sasuga, Akumi! _"_

"Mochiron~ _" Kimiko smirked, her expression smug like a cat that got the cream._

 _Off to the side, Momoi and Kuroko cowered against each other._

" _Is this really okay?" The pinkette asked nervously. "I mean, Aku-chan did hit Akashi-kun this time..."_

 _Midorima wisely held his tongue, but discreetly started to gather snow near his feet just in case._

 _Murasakibara blinked at their friends who were still half-hidden in the bushes like a bunch of idiots. He glanced at his companion and almost stepped backwards when he saw the ominous aura coming from the redhead as he slowly brushed the snow from his right shoulder where Kimiko had gotten him when he had ducked a second too late._

" _A-Aka-chin?"_

 _He was promptly ignored when Akashi knelt and gathered snow in his hands, forming a snowball in each hand. Eyes on the grinning chartreusette, he slowly stood up and simply declared, "_ Tsugi wa..." he cocked his head slightly to the left, "...ore no ban. _" [Now it's my turn.]_

 _Shocked at the redhead's use of that familiar line, Kimiko was unable to avoid Akashi's attack and was hit directly on her face. An astonished silence fell among the group as they did not expect Akashi to actually retaliate - and to think that he actually aimed at Kimiko's face! The rest of them looked back and forth between the two, waiting for a reaction from them._

 _Kimiko shook her head and wiped her face with the back of her hand. "_ Shouganee na," _she murmured in an amused tone. Gold eyes glinting in the late winter sun, she fixed her gaze on Akashi's challenging orbs. "_ Mendou na koto naru yo~ _" she purred sweetly at him before turning to Midorima and Aomine. "_ Iku ze!" _[It can't be helped. You're asking for trouble. Let's go!]_

 _Aomine, of course, had no hesitation in following Kimiko as she jumped out of the bushes. "_ KURAE _!" he yelled as he threw two snowballs in the redhead's direction, who nimbly dodged them, making them hit Murasakibara instead and making him drop his_ maiubo.

 _Which, of course infuriated the giant._

" _Mine-chin...!"_

"Shimatta _!"_

 _Seeing that Aomine was preoccupied with escaping Murasakibara's snow cannonballs, Kimiko called out to Midorima who rolled his eyes skyward, disbelief showing on his face a if he cannot believe what he was about to do before resigning himself to this... suicide mission appointed to him by the golden-eyed tyrant._

 _Distracted, Akashi lobbed another snowball at the chartreusette, who yelped before diving out of the way. "Heh, Akumi... Calling for back-up?"_

 _Kimiko scooped some snow and molded it hurriedly in her hands as she glared at the boy before her. "_ Urusai _!"_

" _Kuroko, with me," Akashi called out to the bluenette who was watching them from the safety of the bushes._

" _Eh?"_

"Zurui _!" Kimiko protested as she made a hasty retreat behind a tree. "Oi, Shintarou, deal with Tetsuya!"_

 _Soon enough, all of them were engaged in a snowball fight. At first, it was Akashi, Murasakibara, and Kuroko against Kimiko, Aomine, and Midorima. However, when Kimiko tossed a snowball at Momoi, it changed into a free-for-all snowball fight. Alliances were made only to be dissolved a moment later, although Kimiko was hellbent on getting a hit on Akashi for a second time. The seven of them ran around the area in front of the gates, laughing and shouting as they pelted on another with frozen projectiles. The sound attracted a passing Shirogane who was on his way to the administration office to speak to the principal regarding the basketball club. An amused smile appeared on the older man's lips as he stopped to observe the youngsters for a moment, paying special attention to a certain red-haired vice captain. Having known the boy for almost a year now, Shirogane had noticed that aside from being so painfully polite and formal, Akashi was always dignified and graceful in everything he does, not one to be caught off-guard that it creates the impression that he was cold and distant to everyone. Shirogane had heard of talks among the other members about how Akashi was a snob and an arrogant person, completely misunderstanding the redhead's words and actions. His attention turned to the chartreusette, who had fallen to the ground after being hit in the back of the head by one of Akashi's snowballs. Akashi had frozen in place at what happened, then when she did not get up immediately, he rushed to her side to check up on her, not noticing her hand that was sneakily molding a snowball so that when he knelt beside her, it was too late for him to avoid her hand as she smashed the balled-up snow in his face. Everyone stopped as they heard her laugh at the priceless expression on Akashi's face that was still partly covered by snow._

 _Even Shirogane found himself laughing as well._

Ah _,_ theinnocenceofyouth _, he mused as he went on his way. Their laughters faded behind him, although the memory of those teens will forever be embedded in his memory._

Murasakibara's reverie was broken by Nebuya's loud yell of "MUSCLE DUNK!", followed by Mibuchi's exasperated "Ei-chan, will you stop yelling that every damn time?!"

"Hm, that muscle gorilla is too noisy~" he complained, making Kimiko laugh.

"Ne, Atsushi, don't you call your captain _Gorilla_ as well?"

Behind his light novel, Mayuzumi snorted while Akashi sighed. _Just what are they talking about now?_

Murasakibara lazily fished for the last potato chip in the bag. _"_ Hm-mm. Captain is Butt-chin Gori while Aka-chin's teammate is a Muscle Gori~ _"_

Kimiko nodded her head as if that made perfect sense to her. " _Sou ka..._ "

When Murasakibara went off to dispose of the trash in a nearby trash can, Kimiko went with him, telling Akashi that she was going to get something to drink, and asking him if he and Mayuzumi wants something as well. Both of them declined her offer, so she shrugged and left with Murasakibara, continuing on their topic of comparing Okamura to Nebuya.

However, when the two of them did not return after five minutes, Akashi decided to look for them. What he did not expect to see was the two making snow bunnies with colored chocolate candies for their eyes and noses on the side of the road, their creations perched on top of a concrete ledge. He stopped at a distance to observe the two who were totally caught up in what they were doing.

 _Really, these two,_ Akashi shook his head when he realized that they are in fact making snow sculptures of the _Kiseki_ _no_ _Sedai_ with the addition of Momoi, Kuroko, Nijimura and herself. He had to admit, he did not expect Murasakibara to be able to make elaborate snow sculptures to match those that were made by Kimiko, although she seemed to be the one to suggest on what pose to make the bunnies. Akashi almost laughed when Kimiko added an eyeglasses frame made of twigs on the bunny that was supposed to be Midorima. When they were finished, Kimiko snapped a picture of their creation on her phone. Murasakibara did as well - and only after that did they turned to get back to the court. The two stopped when they saw an amused Akashi waiting for them on the other side with an amused expression on his face.

"So that's what took you so long," Akashi said to the two who were both sporting sheepish grins on their faces.

"Snow bunnies are fun to make," Murasakibara reasoned, eating the remaining candies as they made their way to the court, where their respective teammates' match is drawing to a close.

As expected, the Uncrowned Generals won the match, and Kimiko congratulated them for showing exemplary teamwork despite the fact that Mibuchi was practically scolding his teammates the whole game. Kimiko bid goodbye to Murasakibara by hugging him, then asked for the whereabouts of Himuro, whom she had not seen since their match. Murasakibara shrugged, since he too had not seen the mirage shooter as well. Nebuya then complained that he was hungry. Checking his watch, Akashi then decided that they might as well have lunch since it was already nearing 12:oo. Kimiko engaged his team in light conversation during the meal, while Akashi opted to mostly listen to whatever they were talking about, since he was preoccupied with something else.

Sitting across the table facing the chartreusette, Akashi was secretly fiddling with the envelope containing the invitation in his pocket.

For some reason, he was feeling uncertain about asking her to be his date for the ball. Akashi could not make sense of this feeling since it's not like this is the first time that he would be taking her out, and thus, he did not know why this time should be any different.

So why is it that every time he tries to pull out the damn envelope, his hand keeps on getting stuck in his pocket?

He inwardly sighed in frustration.

 _What am I getting hesitant for?_

 _ **You are afraid that she will say no**_ , came the Emperor's voice.

Akashi narrowed his eyes at that. _But why would she refuse?_

 _ **Are you really asking me that?**_

 _But she never-_

 **Now** , _**you**_ ' _ **re**_ _**taking**_ _**her**_ _**for**_ _**granted**_ , the Emperor said, cutting him off. _**Tell me, how many times have you asked her out to accompany you to something as big as this one? Do you think she will flat-out say yes just because you asked?**_

Guilt flooded his system. He'd been thinking selfishly about the invitation, not taking into consideration what Kimiko would feel about it.

However, if he decided not to ask her, he would be missing the chance to take her with him and to spend some time with her, seeing that due to the Nationals and the side jobs that his father had assigned to him, Akashi was not able to make the most of his stay in Wakayama with the chartreusette. Plus, with her presence, Akashi was certain that she would make the boring event as something that he can look forward to, since she's going to be there with him.

Akashi promptly face-palmed mentally.

Gods, how had he become so dependent on this girl?

He sighed once more.

How hard was it to ask Kimiko to be his date?

 _ **As amusing it is to watch you behaving like this, I strongly suggest that you spit out those words and be done with it instead of torturing yourself like this.**_

 _Tch_. _Easier_ _said_ _than_ _done_. Akashi felt like negotiating a business deal with a probable business partner is a piece of cake compared to this.

"Akumi," he finally said, getting the attention of the girl that was busy gorging on a slice of cake that she had ordered for dessert.

"Hm?"

Breathing deeply, Akashi pulled out the envelope and handed them to the girl. Kimiko recognized the envelope from earlier and with slight hesitation, she opened it and pulled out the two invitations inside. The look in her eyes when she looked back at him says, _What_ _am_ I _supposed_ _to_ _do_ _with_ _this_?

He swallowed discreetly before speaking once more. "Do you have any plans for this evening?"

"No...?" Kimiko answered, her mind already working.

 _The invitations, him asking if she was free tonight..._

"Wait. You mean-" she stared at the two cards in her hand then back at the impassive redhead, "-you want me to go with you?"

Akashi nodded.

"I see," Kimiko said at length.

The sinking sensation in his gut returned. "You don't have to go if you don't want to. Just say the word."

Well, that came out a bit cold than Akashi would have wanted. It almost seemed like he was guilt-tripping her into saying yes.

Akashi was half-tempted to smash his head on the table.

"Well," the girl mused, not really in a hurry to give him an answer. She poked at the remaining cake on her plate before setting down her fork. "I would love to go with you but I don't think I have something fitting to wear for this... occasion."

"That can be easily taken care of."

"Eh, I wouldn't want to be a bother..."

Akashi scoffed lightly. "You're never a bother, Akumi. I can get someone to get your measurements and have an outfit prepared for you for tonight."

Kimiko raised her hands. "No need for that! I can just write them down."

"Very well. Give it to me so they can start preparing for it."

He gave his phone to the chartreusette who wasted no time in typing the necessary information on his phone, before handing it back to him so that he can send it to whoever was going to do the task for him. He added a picture of Kimiko as well so that they will know what colors to choose for her dress and accessories.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Rakuzan team tried their hardest not to listen in on their conversation.

Okay, so everyone EXCEPT Mibuchi was trying hard NOT to listen in on their conversation.

Doubt clouded her eyes as she looked at him. "Will it really be okay?"

"Of course."

"But I'm not-"

"It will be okay since you will be going as my date."

Nodding, she handed the card back to him, the color pink dusting the curve of her cheeks. "Okay, then. So I will be going as your.. date."

 _Cuuuuuuteeee!_ Mibuchi had hearts in his eyes.

Akashi was unsure if that was a question or a statement. Deciding that it was the former, he cocked his head slightly and said, "Yes, you will be my date for tonight."

Meanwhile, Mayuzumi was hissing at Mibuchi to let go of his hand, whom the latter was holding in a death squeeze as he tried his hardest not to squeal out loud and ruin the adorable scene before them. Even Nebuya's eyes bulged from its sockets when their red-haired captain uttered the four-letter word.

D-A-T-E.

Their captain just asked a girl – and a very pretty one at that – to go with him on a date.

To a lavish ball nonetheless.

And in front of them all, to boot.

And curse him for acting so calm about it as well – none of that stuttering and tripping clumsily over words and no blushing. Then they noticed the tips of his ears – and though no one dared to point it out – now matched the color of his hair.

 _Who'd have thought that out of the five – or four, if you'd remove Mibuchi from the lineup – of them, it would be their captain who'd be the first to have a girlfriend?_

The shooting guard blinked. "You think that..."

"That what?" Mayuzumi snarled. "And let go of my hand. Now."

Of course, Mibuchi ignored the last part and whispered, "Sei-chan and Aku-chan, Together. As in boyfriend-girlfriend-together sort of thing."

"Ask him, not me!"

"But Mayu-chan~!"

"Shut it, Mibuchi!"

" _Ano_ , will it... will it really be alright having me as your date?" Kimiko blurted out as she toyed with her straw, completely oblivious to the bickering pair on the other end of the table. "I mean, shouldn't you be, like, escorting some heiress or something like that?"

Akashi found himself snorting in disgust. "You're here now, so why should I?"

On their daily walks to and from Teikou, Kimiko had a pretty clear idea on how Akashi's social life as the heir works. Also, she'd listened to him complain a lot about his life, and one of those had been how he hated being around girls his age during parties and how they irritated the hell out of him. Kimiko had a good laugh over that particular tirade of his concerning the heiress of a renowned electronics company.

 _Akashi had been in a foul mood since Sunday evening, when he dropped by Kimiko's house after spending his weekend in Kyoto to attend a company anniversary per his father's instruction. He'd jabbed at the buzzer on Kimiko's front door mercilessly when he usually just knocks, and by the time Kimiko had gone to open it, he just huffed and ignored the confused look on her face before barging into her house without as much as a single "Hello."_

 _With a look of bewilderment, she closed the door and followed him to the living room, where he was already settled on the couch, his jacket slung on the armrest while he sat there, his head tilted back, resting against the backrest as he stared at the ceiling like it held the answers to life's greatest questions._

 _And it seemed that he had taken the liberty of taking one of her french fries on the coffee table as well._

" _Hello, good evening, how are you, come in, make yourself at home, have some fries, continue ignoring me, thank you!"_

 _At her outburst, Akashi swallowed the piece of french fry and finally turned his head to look at her._

 _And then he smirked in amusement._

 _She would have smiled too, if not for the exhaustion dulling his usual vibrant ruby pools._

" _Akumi," he drawled out, and he sounded tired, yet relieved. The girl took it as her cue to join him. Sitting on the other end of the couch, she beckoned to him and he responded by shifting positions, stretching out and laying his head on her lap. She played with his hair a bit, brushing them off his face as she massaged his temples with gentle fingers, smiling as Akashi let out a sigh of relief, leaning into her touch as his eyes closed._

" _Was it that bad?" she asked. He'd told her last Friday of the social event that he had to attend on the weekend, and he'd told her all the details, including his date for the evening._

" _The worst," he replied, not bothering to speak proper sentences like he does around his father. Inside the walls of this house, he was plain Seijuurou, and Kimiko would care less if he start talking like a cave man (not that he would, of course!), and he can do things he cannot do in public, like speaking like a commoner (her influence, really) or just plain lazing around, pigging out on her delicious cooking, or playing mundane games on her Play Station game console._

 _She stifled a laugh, and continued the massage until Akashi told her to stop by placing a hand over one of hers. One hand remained, though, as she let crimson strands pass through her fingers. She stopped when Akashi sighed._

" _Okay, spill," she said. She's getting tired of hearing him sigh._

 _Akashi cracked an eye open. "I don't have anything to spill."_

 _She chuckled. "Why is it that you can lie to everyone else but me?"_

" _You can't lie to me, either."_

" _Why would I lie to you?" she shot back._

 _That made Akashi finally sit straight and look at her. "When you don't want me to bother with your scores in Math."_

 _Kimiko blushed at that. "Hey! That's a one-time thing!"_

" _You do it every time we have an exam."_

" _You're changing the subject," she pouted. Snatching a fry from the plate on the table, she was about to eat it when Akashi grabbed her wrist and redirected the food to his own mouth. "Get your own food!" she yelled as she laughed at this playful behavior from the redhead._

" _Ah, but this is much better," he said._

" _Hmp, for you, it is," she said with a pout, but consented to feeding him once in while. At some length, she asked, "So, was she a princess or a witch?"_

" _A witch," the redhead answered without missing a beat, and Kimiko laughed._

" _Harsh."_

" _I call it as I see it," was all he replied before he yawned, the exhaustion finally catching up to him. He laid back down on the couch. "I don't understand why she had to cover her face under all those layers of make-up. I only saw such thick makeup on the_ maikos _at Gion. Her voice is too high-pitched, and she has an unfortunate characteristic of talking endlessly about the most mundane topics. Her dress is too revealing, as well – highly inappropriate for her age. Why her mother allowed her to wear such a dress was beyond me." And so, he ranted about the ball in his tired, quiet monotone while she ran her fingers through his hair, giggling quietly at his words. A minute later, and the redhead had fallen asleep on the couch, looking peaceful and relaxed than he had when he first came in._

"If you say so." Simple as that – since Akashi said so, then it is the truth. Her doubts gone, Kimiko finished her dessert, and when everyone was done eating, they headed back to the hotel to get ready for the semi-finals later that afternoon. Shirogane Eiji called for a meeting in one of the hotel's lavish conference room, and to everyone's surprise, he asked Akashi to bring the chartreusette with him.

"Eh? But why?" Kimiko said from her bed, where she was laying on her stomach and flipping through a magazine she picked up somewhere. "This is a team meeting, right?"

"Coach wants your opinion as well, knowing how you have served under his brother in Teikou," said Akashi, already wearing his jersey under his tracksuit. "I'm not the only one who's hoping that you'd join us next year."

"We'll see about that," she said with a smile, then finally rolled off the bed to get ready as well. They arrived at the conference room together, but Coach Shirogane was not there yet so the Rakuzan team was busy chatting with one another, pausing only to greet the two when they came in.

"Sei-chan! Aku-chan! Over here!" Mibuchi waved them over, where there were two vacant seats available. The team were seated around a huge oval table, and the regulars were seated right at the front closest to the huge screen used for presentations. A minute later, their coach finally entered the room, carrying a few files and several CDs, presumably of Kaijou's previous matches.

After the greetings were done, Shirogane placed his things on the table and motioned Akashi to play one of the CDs, however, Kimiko volunteered to do it instead. It was Kaijou's game against Seirin last Winter Cup, where Kise had demonstrated just how deadly he can be as well, proving that he is worthy as a member of the _Kiseki no Sedai_. On Shirogane's cue, Kimiko pauses the video on the significant parts so that they can discuss it with the team. Everyone was allowed to talk, though it was a recent development for the team which is after Winter Cup, but Kimiko didn't know that. Back then, only the regulars participated in the discussion while the rest merely listened, and even then, it was Akashi who had the final say. But now –

"Kaijou has a weak bench," one of the first-string members said. A lot of the members nodded, and Kimiko herself agreed with him.

"Hm, I think they rely too much on Kise," Hayama added in a serious tone. "Kaijou loses a lot of its power without their ace, plus they're one of those balanced teams."

"But they've a lot of determination, don't you think?" Mibuchi mused.

"I'm sure our first-string can handle them easily, though," another member said.

Akashi spoke up for the first time. "True, but we should not underestimate them."

Kimiko cleared her throat from her place behind Shirogane. "If I may…?"

"Go ahead, Kimiko," Rakuzan's coach said with a nod.

"I'm afraid that Rakuzan won't be able to implement misdirection in your game plan against Kaijou. As you can see, misdirection is pretty much useless against them due to the fact that they've played against Seirin twice and are pretty much immune to it already. Also, you really should watch out for their captain, Kasamatsu Yukio – he's one of the fastest point guards I've ever seen outside of the _Kiseki_ , plus he's quite smart, given that he was the one who figured out the secret behind Kuroko Tetsuya's Phantom Shot."

Nebuya slapped Mayuzumi none too gently on the back. "Ah, guess you'll be playing normally then."

Rakuzan's shadow merely shrugged. "I don't mind."

"About Kise's ability..." Shirogane trailed as he looked at Akashi, asking him for his opinion.

'Emperor' Akashi would've just told them that he'll handle Kise and leave it at that, but since he's no longer that, he explained his plan of action in complete detail. "Kise can copy other people's moves, so don't be surprised if he suddenly uses your own against you." The statement was directed to his team. "As for his Perfect Copy, where he can use a combination of the _Kiseki's_ abilities, I'll be doing something similar to what Kuroko had done." His left eye seemed to brighten slightly, its color a shade lighter than the crimson of his right eye. "I'll try to stop him before he even uses it."

"So if Sei-chan will go against Kise, then how about the rest of us?"

It was Kimiko who answered then, slipping into her coach-mode like she was in Teikou. "I'm pretty certain that Kaijou will let Kise mark Akashi, so that leaves you to mark your respective opponents in terms of your position on court, except that Hayama-san will have Kasamatsu instead, since you're the only one aside from Akashi to match his speed."

"Is that correct, Coach?" Hayama verified with Shirogane. He meant no insult by that, but it was enough to shake Kimiko that she blushed and apologized for speaking without asking for permission first.

The older man, of course, would have none of that. "You don't need to apologize, Kimiko. I have explained to the members of your presence, and I did call you here to hear about your opinion. So please, for this meeting, consider yourself a member of the team, if you'd like, and to speak freely as well." He then answered Hayama's inquiry. "Yes, she is, Hayama. Other questions?"

"Do we have their stats?" Mayuzumi asked. He's not really familiar with his mark, and he'd failed to observe them closely when they were traveling together. _Well, it seems that I'm growing lax_ , he thought. Akashi had taught him to observe their opponents to make his misdirection that much effective, but he'd forgotten all about that, it seems, because he'd been too busy talking with that Nakamura-guy about light novels and anime.

Shirogane was about to look for it in his files but Akashi has other ideas. "Akumi, if you will."

"Uhm, what exactly do you want to know?" she said with a slight raise of her eyebrows.

Shirogane paused and looked at her in an evaluating manner. His older brother had told him that the girl was a gold mine when it comes to information. He'd like a demonstration, and now was a good time to see if that was true. "Well, Kimiko, how much do you know?"

"Just tell her when to stop," Akashi said almost jokingly from his seat at the table. Kimiko glared at him for that.

"Fine. Since it was Chihiro-san who asked first, then I'll start with his mark." She turned off the video and swiped a marker from the drawer and went in front. Clearing her throat, she wrote with swift and precise strokes on the board. "Kaijou No. 10, Hayakawa Mitsuhiro. Height, 185 cm, weight, 77 kg. He specializes in rebounds, especially offensive ones. Thanks to his explosive jumping power, he can still get the ball even when you managed to jump before him. He's very skilled in boxing out his opponents in order to get the rebound, so it's a must that you restrict his movements every time he is near the basket. He has a lot of stamina as well, also, he's pretty loud -"

"Like Muscle Gorilla here?" Hayama quipped. Kimiko blinked at the interruption, but she was not annoyed by it or anything. Middle school was heaven compared to this. In fact, she grinned as Nebuya squawked a protest, and proceeded normally.

"Aa. Hayakawa-san has solid defense, and if you know that Tsugawa-guy from Seihou, his defense is on the same level. Any further questions?" She turned and looked at the phantom, who shook his head and thanked her for the thorough information.

 _Tsk, so I am stuck with a loudmouth,_ Mayuzumi sighed.

"Okay, so we'll have Kaijou No. 5–" she faced the board and started writing again, missing the awed looks on the Rakuzan players – except Akashi who was smirking proudly in his seat – as she recited all those information from memory, "Moriyama Yoshitaka, the team's wannabe cassanova. 181 cm, 67 kg – Mibuchi-san is taller by seven centimeters, an advantage. Objectively speaking, Mibuchi-san is the better player all in all, physically and ability-wise. Important thing to note is that Moriyama-san has an odd way of shooting the ball," here, she paused and made a shooting motion with her hands, "a modified underhanded set shot that gives it a high arc, though not as much as Midorima's shots, and the ball, if you watch closely, does not rotate – almost. It's what makes his shots difficult to block, but I think if you can adjust to his timing, then you can block him just like with Hyuga-san's Barrier Jumper."

Mibuchi gave her a mock salute. "Got it, Aku-chan!"

"Next is their center, No. 8, Kobori Koji. Slightly taller by two centimeters to Nebuya-san's 190 cm, but he's lighter, obviously. He's only 74 kg… I'm sure you'll have no problem pushing him back if it comes to that. His play style is mainly defensive, but look out for his screens. His specialty would be the low post – back step – shoot sequence. Again, do not underestimate Kobori-san – remember that he was able to match Kiyoshi-san during the Winter Cup semis."

"So it's like facing Kiyoshi, eh?" Nebuya asked, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

Kimiko nodded. "Yep, pretty much."

Rakuzan's center leaned into his seat and patted his belly. "Okay then. I'll eat lots later."

"You'll just burp all over the place," Mibuchi grumbled.

"My turn!" Hayama sat straighter in his seat, his attention now focused on the chartreusette. "Tell me about my mark, Kimi-chan!"

"Hai, hai. No. 4, Kasamatsu Yukio, point guard and captain of Kaijou, and also its mental pillar. One of the best players in the league – a good all-around player, if you will. Aside from his powerful drives, he is also a deadly three-point shooter, plus the fact that he's the point guard means that he is a passing specialist as well. He gave Izuki-san trouble as well, outsmarting him and rendering his Eagle Spear useless… You'll have your hands full with this one, Hayama-san."

The blonde was grinning though, excited at the thought of having such a powerful opponent. "Heh, this will be a very interesting game..."

 _Sou ka,_ Kimiko said to herself, remembering Aomine, _so he's like that, as well…_

"What about Kaijou's No. 9?" Akashi asked. He remembered the boy who substituted for Kise. "Do you have data on him?"

Kimiko, who was about to return to her seat, paused, then nodded. "Oh, right." As she went back to the board, she heard some of the other first-string players muttering to themselves, probably trying to remember what Akashi was talking about.

"He's the one with ash-blond hair and glasses," she supplied helpfully, and recognition dawned on them.

"Ah, the one who's always talking to Mayuzumi-san during the trip!" one of them piped up, and eyes turned to the phantom expectantly.

"His name is Nakamura. Nakamura Shinya," Mayuzumi grumbled.

"Right," Kimiko wrote his name on the board. "Nakamura Shinya, 181 cm, 68 kg, shooting guard. Specialty is pick and roll, and he is pretty good at defense. He helped in guarding Kagami during the semis, and given that it's Kagami, he did a pretty decent job. Back in middle school, he was ranked among the top ten defensive players, so he's no joke either. Any more players you want to know about?"

"That would be all, Kimiko," Shirogane told her, completely impressed. When she passed by him on her way to her seat, he added, "Kozo-nii did not exaggerate when he told me about you."

Akashi heard that, and gave a short laugh. "Coach, if you want, she can tell you about their birthdays and blood type, if you want."

A light blush colored her cheeks a light pink. "Oi, Seijuurou, quit it."

"Really?" One of the players in the back asked.

"That kind of information would be useless in a match, though," she muttered, but did not deny that she knows them. Actually, she only did that for Midorima, horoscope-obsessed that he is, until it became a habit, so there's that.

After giving them the player's information, they moved on to tactics and strategies, with everyone joining in, Akashi had joined her in front and soon the board was full of his and her diagrams on their possible plays. For a moment, Kimiko showed her ruthless and manipulative side as she tossed out plays that ends up in fouling the opponents or blindsiding them. She exposed the weakness of Kaijou's players and how to exploit them mercilessly, leaving everyone gaping at her when they were finished with the meeting.

 _I see,_ Mayuzumi thought, feeling wary of the girl who looked harmless on the outside, _so basically she was like the other side of Akashi - but only to her opponent._ The bitter memory of how he was used during the Winter Cup finals resurfaced in his mind and wondered if there was a connection to Kimiko's dark side to the awakening of Akashi's split personality.

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

 _ **[From: Akumicchi]**_

 _ **02:25PM Gomen ne, Ryou-kun.**_

Kise blinked when he read her message. Anger, disappointment, envy – all those feelings churned inside him and slowly boiled down into one of dull acceptance.

It was a vague message, but Kise, as will everyone in the _Kiseki no_ Sedai, perfectly understood what she meant by that apology. Of _course, Akumicchi… Anything for him, right?_

He didn't notice just how tight he was holding his phone until Kasamatsu called him out on it.

"Your phone will snap in half if you keep that up, _baka."_ They, too, were in the middle of a game meeting as they figured how they will deal with Kyoto's tyrants. They'd watched the Winter Cup Finals, and even though Rakuzan lost, they're back at the Nationals with a more stronger and better team. Seirin might have beaten them, but ended up exposing everything they had. Kagami's Direct Drive Zone was the peak of Seirin's full potential as a team, but Rakuzan can be considered a wild card… Who knows what Akashi has his sleeve this time around, now that he's awakened his second skill – the fearsome Perfect-Rhythmed Play **…** Granted, they have Kise's Perfect Copy, but how far can it take them this time around?

Kise knows that Kasamatsu was worried for their upcoming game and there is nothing he can do to assure his captain when he himself was unsure how he could measure up to Akashi – and there's the issue of Kimiko as well.

 _Why does she even have to help him? Isn't he strong enough? Isn't his team strong enough?_ But even as he asked all these questions to himself, he realized that Kimiko never betrayed Akashi, nope, not even in the smallest of things. He fought the urge to groan in frustration. _How does he do it? How did he managed to find someone so devoted, so loyal, like her?_

"Oi, Kise, are you listening?" Genta asked.

"Hai, Genta-san." It was a knee-jerk response – obviously, he's busy moping to even pay attention to the intricate plays being discussed by their coach, because, really, once on the court, Akashi will just render them void and useless. _Remember when he stopped Kagami's Meteor Jam on the very first move?_ But he didn't dare say it out loud and crush his team's morale.

As Genta's voice droned continuously in his ears, Kise prayed that somehow he and his team can make it out of the coming match alive with their sanity and spirit intact.

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After the meeting, Kimiko was about to leave the conference room ahead of them when Mayuzumi called her name.

"If you don't mind me asking, what was exactly your duties in Teikou's basketball club?"

"Information gathering, constructing training menus, organizing training camps and practice matches during off-season, and designing plays with Seijuurou," she answered in one breath. "Why?"

Mayuzumi shrugged. "Just confirming something."

"And that 'something' is?"

 _How can I say this without sounding rude or judgmental?_ "That you're not what I initially thought."

The smile that graced her lips was bitter and melancholic. "I know, right?

"Your plays were brilliant and effective," Mayuzumi blurted out, fearing that he offended her or something. He was telling the truth, not just throwing empty compliments at her. It just came as a surprise that someone like her could even cook up such a devious plan that he thought only Akashi's second personality can only concoct – only to find out that Kimiko was probably the one behind all those killer plays of Teikou back in their middle school years. Just how many players had suffered breakdowns or quit basketball altogether after facing Teikou?

"And borderline cruel, don't you think?" She seemed to be talking to someone else, what with her eyes going out of focus as she stared right through him. "They're not the only ones responsible, Chihiro-san. I'm the original game master, after all. I was the one who pushed them into becoming the monsters you all feared on the court."

 _It was just a practice match against one of the stronger teams in Tokyo, and Kimiko had gone and scouted the team the week before, returning with a complete compilation of information about the team, the players and their individual and overall play styles. On the day of the actual match, Shirogane had sent Kimiko, Nijimura and the rest of the freshmen to give them the experience they need before they play in actual tournaments. Inside the bus, Kimiko had reviewed the details to them, along with the plays she'd created that they'll put to use against this particular team._

 _Unlike Momoi, who collects data that will help her in predicting the growth of that particular player, Kimiko goes beyond that. She picks at the individual's personality as well, looking for their fears and insecurities and incorporates them into her plays. It's what makes her different from Momoi, who has clear boundaries on what to know and what was better left alone._

 _Kimiko has no such limits, though._

 _If she wanted to ruin a whole team, she can and she will, make no mistake, to secure Teikou's victory._

 _This certain school that they're going up against was one of those who had given Teikou troubles in the past. Nijimura had told her about it, and her mind immediately went to work. They were enough to be a threat to Teikou, and she'd made it her responsibility to eliminate all threats to her team… From her little trip she had gathered that Kinzaki Middle – that's the name of their opponent – had some pretty good members and a few promising recruits as well, three of which was just a couple levels below Aomine and might actually give her current team a bit of a struggle._

 _What better way to nip them in the bud before they fully bloomed?_

 _She lingered there, listening to the players and the managers, and learned that there was actually some kind of a dispute over the position of captain going on. The previous captain had been injured in a practice accident, and his appointed successor was not approved by his teammates. Apparently, they all believed that when you're the captain means that you are the best player, and thus they were pushing someone – a second-year, to take the lead even when he's shit when it comes to leading others._

 _There's chaos in Kinzaki's basketball team, and Kimiko witnessed firsthand how the lack of teamwork was putting all their skills useless, no matter how good they're supposed to be. The current captain somehow pulls them together though, and that made him the perfect target in her eyes._

 _She drew her plan on her board and explained it to her team, who was listening in rapt attention. "...and then, Tetsuya will cut in here and draw a foul against No. 4… Okay?"_

" _Why the emphasis on this guy, though?" Aomine asked then, since all the plays she'd given them all involved fouling the poor guy or forcing him to make mistakes. Haizaki was the only one who has no questions whatsoever._

" _He's the control tower, once he's out, then the team will break down," she explained simply as she erased all the writings on the board in preparation for the next one._

 _Midorima, though, was worried about one thing. "What about their ace?"_

" _No. 12? He's nothing without a point guard, and No.4 is the only decent point guard they have. Anyone else is a joke when they face Seijuurou."_

 _When Teikou and Kinzaki finally faced on the court, they went with Kimiko's plan and watched as Kinzaki's No.4 broke down on his fourth foul near the end of the first half and how his team followed soon after. With the seeds of distrust already sown in their hearts and minds, they forced themselves to score once they got the ball, not passing it to their teammates even when it was the better option at the time, and by the end of the fourth quarter, Teikou had already doubled their score without even breaking a sweat._

 _Teikou celebrated their victory, and had forgotten all about that particular match until the preliminaries for the InterHigh began. Kinzaki was one of their first opponents, and everyone had expected a breathtaking match between the two teams who ranked first and second the previous year. Unfortunately, Kimiko's machinations had taken root – their captain had quit altogether while their ace had taken to playing selfishly while the rest of them fumbled about as they tried and failed in their pathetic attempts at teamwork – and so it was another walk in the park for the Teikou team. And in the following tournaments and the years thereafter, Kinzaki never reclaimed their Top 2 ranking and steadily fell through the ranks that year and the year after that._

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The Seirin team was lounging in the locker room waiting for their game against Yosen by five-thirty when Kuroko received a message from Kimiko asking if anyone from his team has seen Himuro.

"Eh? Tatsuya is missing."

Kuroko showed Kagami Kimiko's message. "That seems to be the case. Akumi-san is looking for him somewhere near the hotel where we were staying and she's asking me if we somehow saw Himuro when we returned earlier after the game."

"But isn't it too far from the park where the games were held?" Hyuga asked.

"Himuro-san could've taken a bus or something," Riko pointed out.

"Why would he do that, though? Did they already tried calling him?" Izuki found it weird that no one was able to locate the mirage shooter. The game ended at around 10:30AM, and now it's already nearing three in the afternoon... Where had he gone off to?

And why?

"They did, but no one's picking up."

Kagami was worried. Did something happened to Himuro? "I'll help look for him!"

"But Kagami-kunー" Riko was about to tell him that he cannot go but Kagami looked at her with eyes full of determination.

Riko sighed. "Fine. Keep me updated on your search, and be back by five, okay? We still have a game to play. I hope you find him safe and sound."

"I'll try my best."

"Okay then. Good luck and take care."

Kagami went back to their hotel and combed the alleys and even checked inside the establishments he passed by. An hour later, he stumbled across a mostly empty park, when something caught his eye.

 _Is that-_

A figure was sitting lifelessly on a park bench, with clothes not really fitting for the season. Himuro's head was bowed, hiding his face from the world, his back hunched like he was carrying a huge burden on his shoulders.

"Tsk... What was he thinking leaving his team like that?" Kagami grumbled angrily. He'd known his older friend/brother to be nothing like him that's rash, never considering the consequences his actions may bring, but Himuroー

 _Cool head, hot heart._

ーHimuro is nothing like him.

He'd always been calm, not one to openly show his feelings especially that of weakness, of vulnerability, ever since he met Kagami whom he considered as his younger brother. Being Kagami's older brother means that he must be more mature, more logical, more responsible (though he had accepted the fact that Kagami is better than him in basketball). Sure, he can be selfish and manipulative at times, has no problems in beating others up when the situation calls for it, but to make his team worry and wander all around Wakayama to search for him since he refuses to answer his own damn phone (which was currently ringing inside his bag, by the way)...

" _Teme_ _wa_ _ー_!" Kagami began but stopped when another voice called out the raven's name.

"Tatsuya! _Mitsuketa_!" A breathless Kimiko came running from the opposite direction. Beside her was Murasakibara, who stopped upon seeing his partner. Himuro gave a jolt when he heard her voice, but he didn't raise his head. Instead, he fisted his hands tighter, knuckles turning white. Kimiko had stopped a few steps away from the bench, hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath, exhausted from running all over the city after she ditched the Rakuzan team to help the purple-haired giant to find the missing half of their double ace. After a few moments, she finally straightened up and almost staggered to the bench and sat herself heavily beside Himuro. "Your whole team is searching for you! Why were you not answering your phone? Your coach, your captain, minnaー myself! ーwe were worried about you!" She then noticed his lack of jacket or anything to shield the cold, and immediately her hands came up to unravel the thick, ruby scarf around her neck. "Oi, you're making yourself sick dressed like that out here! _Hora_ , put this around your neck for the meantime until we find someplace for you to change your clothes - you brought a change of clothes with you, right? Come on."

"Kimiko." His voice was a mere whisper in the air.

"I told you to call meー"

"Shut up."

"ーAkumi... Eh?"

"Just... Shut up. Just fucking shut up," Himuro hissed, and each spoken word coming from his lips took Kimiko aback.

"Tatsuyaー"

"I SAID, SHUT UP!"

Himuro rose to his feet, towering over the shell-shocked chartreusette. At the same time, both Kagami and Murasakibara came running to them, with the latter looking like he would go berserk any moment now.

"Muro-chin-!" Murasakibara growled at Himuro.

"Oi, Tatsuya, what do you think you're doing?" Kagami demanded. He glanced at the wide-eyed girl on the bench, the scarf slipping from her hands to the snow-covered pavement. "Why are you getting mad at Akumi?"

Himuro, it seemed, didn't hear nor register the newcomers' presence. "Leave."

This infuriated Murasakibara and he took a step forward. "Even if it's Muro-chin, I will-!"

"Atsushi," Kimiko warned, stopping the boy from hurting his teammate. She bent down to pick up the scarf and stood up. Murasakibara stared at her with unbelieving eyes.

"But Kumi-chin," Murasakibara almost whined, then shot another glare at Himuro.

"Just leave, Kimiko," Himuro said. His hand shot out towards her abruptly, and Murasakibara instinctively pulled the girl to him and shielded her with his arm. With a scoff, the mirage shooter harshly grabbed his bag from the seat and turned his back to them. Before he walked away, he said in a low voice, "When you're like that, you're just making it more difficult for me."

He'd crossed the street before Kagami finally managed to shake himself out of his stupor.

"Oi, Tatsuya, what the hellー!" he yelled, running after Himuro, then almost stumbled when he was reminded of the two behind him. "Murasakibara, Iー"

"You can go now, Kaga-chin. I'll take care of Kumi-chin."

Kagami frowned at the obvious dismissal but did not comment any further. Then with a more subdued tone, he looked at the girl beside the purple-head. "Akumi, I apologize for Tatsuya's actions earlier. I don't know what's gotten into him but I promise to find out so, please do not beー"

A piece of fabric was shoved into his hands. It was Kimiko's scarf. With a shaky smile, she said to the bumbling redhead, "Tell him I'm sorry. For whatever I said or did. Tell him I'm sorryー Go."

Kagami can only squeeze the scarf tightly in his hands. "I'll tell him."

Mutely, she nodded at him. "Thank you, Taiga. Take care of him."

And so, Kagami ran like he was running for his life, eyes locked on the dark-haired figure plodding slowly ahead of him. He remembered the look of anger and betrayal on the other boy's face as he shouted at Kimiko to keep quiet. He'd seen it before, before Himuro punched the living daylights out of him for losing on purpose.

 _Damn it, just what the hell is going on with him?_

What did Kimiko do to make Himuro so mad at her?

"Tsk, I'll get answers soon," he mumbled to himself as he finally caught up to him. "Tatsuya!"

"Leave me alone, Taiga."

Kagami grabbed his shoulder to make him stop, and Himuro would have punched him then and there when the redhead shoved something roughly at his chest, making him stumble backwards for a bit.

He looked down at the scarf but did not make a move to get it. "Whatー"

"Take it." When he didn't, Kagami sighed in exasperation. "Just take it, Tatsuya. It's cold, what are you doing prancing around town dressed in just that?" he asked, indicating at his thin shirt and sweatpants that he wore during the streetball game. When Himuro still didn't make a move, Kagami gave him a look that said 'It's-your-fault-that-I'm-doing-this' then wrapped the scarf around Himuro's neck artlessly (and almost choking him in the process).

Himuro coughed as he loosened the scarf to allow himself to breathe. He was actually going to take it off but something stopped him (and no, Kagami's glare has nothing to do with it, really). A moment of silence passed, then they resumed walking like nothing happened. They passed several stores before anyone spoke up.

"She said sorry," Kagami mumbled.

They reached the intersection and had to wait for the stoplight to turn green before they could cross the street. Upon reaching the other side, Himuro let out a long suffering sigh. "She shouldn't have."

 _Huh_? "Then why did youー?" He stopped when he felt his companion shiver and dip his chin lower into the warmth of the scarf. Up ahead, Kagami spied a coffee shop. Nudging Himuro with his shoulder, he jerked his chin in the direction of the cafe and said, "Let's go in there so you can change your clothes already. Then we'll talk. I'll listen."

"Taiga..."

"No."

Himuro raised an eyebrow at him. Caught off-guard by his response, he can't help but blurt out, "No what?"

Kagami looked up like he was asking the heavens for patience. "No, Tatsuya. I'm not leaving you to brood over your problems alone. So hurry up so we can figure out what's making you act like a complete asshole."

"And you're doing this because she asked you to?"

"No. I'm doing this as your brother." Kagami tugged at his necklace, whose twin was hanging around Himuro's neck. "We're brothers, Tatsuya, and brothers are always there for each other... Ah, damn, that sounds too corny... Hurry up already! You're making me say weird things!"

Too stunned to react, Himuro allowed Kagami to push him from behind, with the latter grumbling about him being a slowpoke and all that. Oh well, he thought as they finally reached the cafe, there's no escaping it now.

But, can he really tell Kagami what's truly bothering him?

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Murasakibara was at a loss. He was thoroughly confused as to why Himuro behaved that way, and it angered him to see the pained expression on Kimiko's face when Himuro had shouted at her. After regaining her friendship, Murasakibara had sworn to himself that he will protect her from anyone who dared to hurt her. Had it not for Kimiko stopping him, he could've punched the living daylights out of Himuro. Teammate or not, no one is allowed to hurt the chartreusette on his watch.

"Kumi-chin," he called softly to the blank-eyed girl. When there was no response, Murasakibara did the only thing he could think of.

He hugged her.

With her height, the top of her head only reached the middle of his chest. He patted her head awkwardly as she clutched the front of his shirt as she stopped herself from crying.

"I can beat up Muro-chin for you if you want," Murasakibara offered when he heard her sniff a little.

The image of Murasakibara pounding Himuro into a pulp amused Kimiko so much that it made her chuckle a bit. " _Baka_ ," she mumbled against his shirt, "you can't do that. Your coach will kill you if you maim one of your teammates..."

"Then I'll transfer to another school," came Murasakibara's nonchalant answer. "Ne, Kumi-chin, you're going to Aka-chin's school, right?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Because Aka-chin will get sad if you transfer to some other school," he replied.

"I don't think Seijuurou will be that sad," she said, though inwardly, she agreed with what Murasakibara had said. Akashi will understand if she decides to stay in Tokyo, however, it will sadden him, given that they were already in a relationship.

 _Speaking of which..._

Kimiko pulled away from Murasakibara, feeling a lot better, although her eyes were a bit red even though she did not really cried. She bit her lip, unsure if she will be doing the right thing.

"Ne, Atsushi," she said when they were on the bus to the gym where the semi-finals are going to be held. "I have something to tell you. But," she raised a finger to her lips, "promise me that you are going to keep it as a secret for now, okay?"

"Secret?"

" _Hai_ ," Kimiko affirmed with a nod of her head.

Murasakibara nodded as well. "Alright. I promise."

" _Ano_ ," she began slowly, "Seijuurou and I are in a relationship."

A long period of silence followed after that, with Murasakibara staring at her eyes with profound seriousness that Kimiko almost wanted to squirm at the scrutiny.

 _Maybe it's not a good idea to tell him after all..._

Just as when she was about to give up on getting an answer from the purple-haired boy, Murasakibara finally opened his mouth.

"So, Kumi-chin, when is the wedding?"

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Akashi was already waiting for them at the lobby of the gym when Murasakibara and Kimiko arrived. For an unknown reason, Kimiko's face was slightly tinged with pink and she seemed to be sulking over something while Murasakibara was both amused and confused at her. However, when he asked the two of them what happened, they answered 'Nothing!' in unison.

He would have let it go had he not heard Murasakibara's parting words to the chartreusette, and how it seemed to sober her up.

"Kumi-chin, I'll try to talk to Muro-chin later, okay?"

"Alright," Kimiko said with a tiny smile. "Just don't beat him up, okay?"

Murasakibara paused to consider her request and gave a shrug. "I'll try~"

Once the Yosen player was gone, Akashi turned to Kimiko, who closed her eyes and sighed in exhaustion. Seeing her tired expression, the redhead decided not to interrogate just yet.

That and he doesn't have enough time to do so without needing to cut their conversation short. He had, after all, left the team just to escort her inside. Their game against Kaijou will be starting barely fifteen minutes from now.

After making sure that Kimiko was able to locate Alex, Akashi was able to go join his team downstairs but not before stealing a brief embrace from the chartreusette, who in turn gave him a soft kiss on the cheek.

Smiling, Akashi headed to the locker room reserved for their team, feeling lighter than he had in years.

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Kimiko watched the Rakuzan-Kaijou match with an apathetic face that even Alex find it eerie. She watched as Akashi checked Kise over and over again and ignored the desperation in his and his teammates' faces as Rakuzan stayed five steps ahead of them. The only time she reacted was when Kise's Perfect Copy finally ran out, sealing Kaijou's fate, and she had only clenched her jaw slightly at that.

"It's over," she murmured, like a _shinigami_ before it claims someone's soul.

The buzzer rang. 97-75.

In favor of Rakuzan.

Akashi had approached a broken Kise and offered him a handshake, and while the blond had accepted it, his heart was not in it. Not a word was exchanged.

Kaijou never reappeared from their locker rooms to watch the Yosen-Seirin game after that, unlike Rakuzan who had joined her and Alex up in the stands just as the second half was about to start. Kimiko's uncharacteristic silence went unnoticed except by Akashi and Mayuzumi (who was feeling guiltier with each passing moment) while the rest of the Rakuzan was still drunk with their win over Kanagawa's elites.

"Is something the matter, Akumi?" Akashi asked her softly, worry reflected in his eyes.

Her eyes followed Kagami as he faced off with Himuro. "Can we talk about this later?" she pleaded.

 _By that, you mean 'Never'._ Akashi sighed. Something was truly bugging the chartreusette. But what? She'd been so full of life earlier at the meeting, completely in her element as she slipped into the role as easily as a fish takes into water, and then she leaves his sight and she becomes this lifeless doll.

"Promise me," he insisted, and held out his pinky finger to her.

She stares at the offered appendage for a moment, and the sudden childish gesture coming from the redhead was enough to draw a startled laugh out of her. She interlaced her own with his and they shake their joined hands once, twice. "I promise."

Akashi smiled and poked her cheek lightly. "There, keep that smile on your face. You look much more beautiful with it than when you frown." Her face flared up as she looked at him, clearly flustered, and Akashi chuckled lightly.

He didn't let go of her hand.

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"The current game is much more interesting than the previous one, don't you think so, Shirikawa?" Akashi Masaomi asked his current companion as they watched from the special viewing room of the gym.

"The young master's team was too much for them, it seems, Akashi-sama."

The Akashi patriarch nodded with a pleased smile on his face. Despite being disillusioned by Rakuzan's match against Kaijou, he was not disappointed. Not when the younger Akashi was playing with such a blissful expression on his face surrounded by his trusted teammates.

Ten minutes after the start of the third quarter, he decided that he had seen enough. The team with that brash redhead and frail bluenette will win this game, and he found himself looking forward to the championship game between them and Rakuzan tomorrow.

"Let us go, Shirikawa. I still have something to attend to."

"Hai, Akashi-sama."

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Seirin did not show further development aside from polishing what they had from last year's tournament. Yosen, with their taller players and tight defense, cornered them until Kagami unleashed his Zone, together with Kuroko's Quasi-Emperor Eye. Seeing the teal-haired boy down there made Akashi smile. Even though Mayuzumi had almost perfected his own style of misdirection, Kuroko is and always will be the lone phantom sixth man. Nothing beats the original, and Mayuzumi, even with his higher specs, was outmatched by Kuroko.

"Who do you think will win this?" he asked her and was not surprised when she gestured at the team with red-and-black jerseys.

"It's a close fight, though." The gap never went beyond six points, and Seirin was doing their best to widen it or at the very least, maintain it. Yosen managed to catch up to them in the middle of the third quarter, when Murasakibara entered the Zone, and held Seirin at bay. From there, it became a showdown between Yosen's double ace and Seirin's light and shadow, with Kuroko's cunning saving them once again, as he always does.

Kagami's Meteor Jam sealed the deal – 99-98. Once again, Seirin won just by the skins of their teeth.

The rematch between Seirin and Rakuzan is on.

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	36. 第36章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **36** **章**

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 _After Midorima carried her home that day after Akashi choked the living daylights out of her, Kimiko found herself unable to sleep despite the fact that she was very, very tired. Her throat was bruised, her right shoulder was bruised, and there's a considerable bump on the side of her head when she was dropped carelessly on the hardwood floor of the court like a piece of garbage._

 _At least she'd been unconscious when her skull collided against the ground._

 _Lying spread-eagled on her bed, still dressed in her Teikou uniform, Kimiko heaved a sigh, the nth one for the evening, and stared at the piece of paper in her hand. She chuckled in spite of herself, because, seriously, who the hell in this time and age still sends written missives on sheets on personalized stationery?_

 _She directed her gaze to the ceiling._

They're just so full of it, aren't they?

 _Golden eyes narrowed as she considered the month-old proposition. Something just doesn't seem right about it. Knowing her status, no one from_ that _side of her family pays attention to her, well, except for her father (and all he normally does was to occasionally ask about her well-being and to supply her with money - not to mention the annoying lessons that he forces her to attend despite the fact that they were pretty much useless to her anyway), so of course, it would seem odd to her when her_ grandfather _actually_ wrote _to her._

 _In his own handwriting, no less._

 _With a request - rather, an order - to show herself in their estate in France._

But for what end?

 _She was yet to hear from her father, who had been unusually quiet. He had not made any form of contact since he greeted her on her birthday, and that had been last August._

 _It's already late November. In fact, December is but three days away._

 _So what's up?_

 _Another tired sigh from the girl as she finally allowed her eyes to rest._

 _Well, what's the harm in getting the hell out of Japan where nothing is going right for her at the moment? Then again, she just might be escaping from one maelstrom only to land herself in another because who says that a storm cannot rage in two locations at the same time?_

 _There's only one way to find out._

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— **木** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **11** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Wakayama, Japan ****

 **和歌山** **、** **日本**

"Kimiko-dear, you're taking too long in the shower~"

"Hai, hai... Coming!" came the reply from inside the bathroom. She'd given him the same answer the last three times, but this time, the water finally stopped running for good.

He flipped through the magazine and stared at another picture of her and that handsome blond model just as the girl finally reemerged from the bath, clad in a thick carmine bathrobe, the sash tightly knotted around her waist. A matching towel was wrapped around her head like a turban.

"Finally," he mildly admonished, and the girl grinned at him sheepishly.

"Sorry, Jean-san..."

He waved his hand at her, gesturing for her to sit at the chair, its back to the study table that served as his makeshift studio. A large three-way mirror stood there, amidst the myriad of brushes, palettes, lipsticks, and hair ornaments arranged on the table's wooden surface.

"Shush, and call me Jeanne. J-E-A-N-N-E," he said, spelling it out for her. "Emphasis on the additional N-E."

"Jeanne," she repeated after him, pronouncing the name like a proper French woman.

" _Parfait_ (Perfect)!" the resident half-French make-up artist of the Vermilion Hotel clapped his hands happily. He removed the towel around her hair, and hung it on the back of the chair. As he plugged in the hair dryer, he busied himself with combing the damp locks. "Hair first, then face, then the dress!" he announced happily. "You'll be the prettiest lady to grace the ball tonight!"

" _Je suis entre vos mains_ (I put myself in your hands)," she replied with a slight bow of her head as Jeanne started drying her hair in preparation for his planned hairdo for her.

" _Ne t'en fais pas. Laisse-moi m'en charger_ (Do not worry. Let me take care of it) _,_ " he assured. _I'll make a princess – no, a queen out of you, my dear… And dear Seijuurou-bocchan won't know what hit him~_ Jeanne cackled in his mind.

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 _It wasn't the first time that she saw the man who claimed himself to be her father, but seeing him up close and personal, Kimiko cannot deny that it was from him that she got her unique hair color as well as eye color._

 _She peeked at the other person at the head of the table, with his almost graying hair although his eyes remained bright as ever._

 _The man who was, apparently, her grandfather._

 _Dominic De Saint-Pierre, a renowned business tycoon in the whole world._

 _The man did not show any form of emotion on his face as he stared at the newest addition in their dining table. Their gazes met, and Kimiko, for lack of something to do while waiting for the other person who will be joining them today, stared back at him with a calm, steady gaze, willing not to show any form of emotion in her eyes as she engaged him in a staring contest._

 _More like a battle of wills, Kimiko thought a minute later. She can almost feel her father's anxiety from where he sat from across the table, and she was almost certain that if his feet can reach her, he would be kicking her under the table to tell her to break it off._

 _Unfortunately for Jacques, her insolent daughter was feeling suicidal at the moment so he was promptly ignored._

 _A welcome distraction came in the form of the arrival of a young man with pale blond hair and bright emerald eyes who took the seat on her left. Dominic's eyes flickered to him and the man was quick to apologize for being late. Their interaction was too formal and stiff for something between a grandfather and his grandson that it made Kimiko blink at what she was seeing._

 _"It won't happen again, Grandfather."_

 _Dominic's eyes narrowed but nodded sharply. "See to it that it won't," he said in that cold, unfeeling voice. Then, by some unseen signal, the servers emerged from the kitchens, laying gourmet meals on the table, coming and going silently like wraiths. Once they were out of sight, Dominic gestured at the table. "Shall we start?"_

 _Kimiko almost said "_ Itadakimasu _," but she fortunately caught herself before she reached for the outermost spoon without the slightest hint of hesitation and began to eat as well._

 _Halfway into the meal, Kimiko's hands stilled as she felt eyes on her person. Patting the corners of her mouth with her napkin, she looked up and met Dominic's unforgiving gaze._

 _"So Jacques had signed you up for lessons," he said, and the other people in the table stilled as well._

 _"He did," she confirmed in his own language, eyes narrowing at the tone that he used with her._

Wasn't he the one who invited me here? Now why was he acting like I am some unwelcome intruder or something _?_

 _Seeing the expression on her face, though, the man's lips turned upwards in a satisfied sneer. "Isn't that interesting..." he mused as if to himself. "Very well. It might not be impossible, after all."_

 _Now, confusion showed on her face. "What's not impossible?"_

 _The look the elder De Saint-Pierre gave her was enough to make her blood run cold._

 _"Why, your induction to the family, of course."_

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With a final brandish of his brush, Jeanne finally stepped away from her and cried with a touch of pride, encouraging her to finally turn to look at herself in the mirror. " _Voila enfin!"_

Kimiko couldn't believe that the gorgeous face staring back at her was her own. She gingerly raised a hand to the side of her face as if to prove it. When the girl in the mirror did the same, she took a deep breath.

"It's me..." she murmured in awe.

She prodded at the sleek, hanging curls that framed the curve of her face. Jeanne had her hair in a half updo, curling the bottom half into soft ringlets down her back while the upper half was combed back and held together by an exquisite bejeweled barrette, and those red gems doesn't look like they were just mere imitations.

" _C'est incroyable_ (It's amazing)," she breathed as she angled her head a little. " _Merci_ _beaucoup_ (Thank you very much), Jeanne."

" _Je_ _vous_ _en_ _prie_ , _mon_ _cher_ ," Jean replied, loving her reactions. He patted her cheek lightly with the brush and gestured at the boxes at the foot of her bed, waiting to be opened. "Prepare to be amazed again after you get dressed in your evening gown. Go change in the bathroom, and be quick, time's running short."

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 _Kimiko was busy pacing in front of the mirror on one side of the holding room that they'd placed her that she did not notice him when he came up to escort her to the ballroom._

 _Aside from her daily dance lessons for the past two weeks, Vincent had been actively involving himself with his half-sibling's lessons, calming her down whenever her volatile temper acts up during said lessons. In her defense, her tutors doesn't have to be so condescending with her - it's not like she was inept or a slow learner. On the contrary, she was quick to pick up on what was taught to her, to the point that she doesn't even have to be taught a single thing._

 _Manners and etiquette-wise, Kimiko was ready to go - now, if only she could just stop her mouth from running off whenever she sees or hears something that displeases her in any manner._

 _And it doesn't help that she seems to hate her own kin - the elite class - with burning passion._

 _She was muttering curses in Japanese - a habit of hers that prompted her elder brother to look them up in a dictionary - and seems intent on making a groove on the carpet with her uneasy pacing that Vincent finally took pity on the floor and called her name. She raised her head and upon seeing him standing there dressed impeccably in a gray tuxedo, she stopped and crossed her arms in front of her and hissed like an infuriated cat._

 _"I hate this."_

 _Cocking his head to the side, he observed her with a critical eye. He could not see anything wrong with her outfit. Her gown was of pure white silk, silver lace peeping around the low neckline and spilling out of the elbow-length sleeves. Tiny diamond crystals decorated the bodice in a filigree pattern, spilling down to her skirt like stars. On her neck hung an elaborate diamond necklace that matches her earrings._

 _And her hair -_

Oh.

 _Vincent sighed at her now jet-black hair and flashing obsidian eyes, making her look like the Eastern part of her blood. "I'm afraid we can't let you out to the public until Grandfather decides when to formally introduce you to the public."_

 _"Damn geezer," she cursed in Japanese, however Vincent was able to understand it perfectly. He suddenly wondered if his grandfather knows how to speak Japanese as well, and how he would react if he ever hears her calling him that._

 _"As for tonight, you'll be posing as my date. A daughter of a potential business partner from Asia, if you will," he said, offering his arm to her._

 _"Let's get this over and done with," she muttered in reply and permitted herself to be led outside the safety haven of the room._

 _And she'll teach that infuriating old man that no one underestimates Kimiko Akumi._

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Akashi entered the room looking absolutely dashing in his black suit, gray silk dress shirt, and red tie - usual dinner outfit for the young heir. He nodded in acknowledgment to the make-up artist who was currently perusing a familiar magazine. The chartreusette, however, was nowhere in sight.

Just as he was about to inquire on her whereabouts, the bathroom door opened and out stepped Kimiko clad in bright crimson silk. She was struggling a little with the skirt, and was looking down to make sure that she won't trip by stepping over them, mumbling loud enough for Jean to hear her.

"I don't know," she was saying as she headed to the bed where the rest of the accessories were, "I mean, the dress is gorgeous, don't get me wrong, but I feel a little exposed..." she released her hold on her skirt and glanced up, trying to get Jeanne's opinion on the dress. Her gown was of flowing crimson silk adorning the length of her body. The front of the dress dipped down to expose a slight amount of cleavage, not so much that she would call inappropriate, leaving her slim shoulders bare and emphasizing her swan-like neck. She ran her hand at the red silk that clung to her waist like second skin. The slightest movement made the sparkling fabric to shift from crimson to gold, although her back was very much exposed.

Only to meet Akashi's slightly wide-eyed gaze as he gazed back at her.

Kimiko blinked up at him, clearly not expecting him to be there. Coral lips parted in surprise.

It was Akashi who recovered first. "You look beautiful."

Kimiko blushed so that her face almost matches her dress. "S-so do you..." she mumbled, turning her face to the side in hopes of hiding the fact that she was feeling flushed at the intense gaze that he was giving her.

The corners of his lips curled in an amused smirk. "I am beautiful?" he echoed, making the girl to look at him with an annoyed glare.

"Fine. Handsome - happy now?"

Akashi chuckled at her flustered expression. "Much." To the girl's relief, the redhead turned to where Jeanne had been standing to the side, wearing a grin that almost split his face in half. "Is there anything that needs to be done?"

"Aside from the shoes and the accessories, she's good to go," Jeanne replied cheerfully. Akashi gave him his thanks for a splendid job and gave an amused nod when the blond stylist slyly requested that he be called the next time that Kimiko needs dolling up and then he was out the door, bringing his bag of make-up and other essentials for his trade.

Alone now with just the two of them, Akashi then approached Kimiko who had seated herself at the foot of the bed where she was staring at the string of rubies that was supposed to go around her slender neck.

Standing next to her, Akashi held out his hand to her. "Let me put that one for you."

"O-okay," she said, handing the necklace to him, shivering involuntarily as his fingers brushed against the skin of her nape as he worked on the clasp of the necklace. It felt like an eternity before he pulled away with a quiet announcement that he was done.

She quickly put on her earrings with trembling fingers, and when she missed her piercing for the third time, Kimiko whipped her head to look at Akashi and growled, "Can you not stare at me like that? It's-"

"Like what?" he returned, and even had the gall to look so innocently as he did so.

"Like- Like-" Her mind promptly went blank.

"Can you blame me?" Akashi said, "When you're looking like that?"

Honestly speaking, who wouldn't?

Her blush returned full force. Akashi - fortunately or unfortunately - can be so blunt and honest at times that Kimiko finds so endearing at times.

But. Not. Right. Now.

Struggling to keep her breathing even, the girl forced herself to speak up, trying to get the earrings on. "Seijuurou. Not helping."

He chuckled at that.

 _ **Red really suits her, don't you think so?**_ came the sly voice of the Emperor inside his head.

 _Indeed,_ Akashi found himself replying as he settled himself beside her, his hand reaching up to cradle her face, fingers tracing the curve of her cheek and stopping beneath her chin so that he can tip her face upwards to him just as she managed to successfully put the pesky earring on.

And Kimiko, feeling nervous, whispered in a shaky voice, " _Est-ce que je semble bien?_ (Do I look okay?)" not realizing that she had just spoke in French.

"The word 'beautiful' is but a pale description as to how you look tonight, Akumi," he murmured, then pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead.

"Th-then, if I'm not beautiful, then what am I?" As soon as the question left her lips, she wished it hadn't. _Kami, he'll think I'm conceited! Ground, open up and swallow me now!_ His eyes bored into hers, the intensity of his gaze weighing down on her.

"You're absolutely... breathtaking, Akumi." He bent his head lower, but just as her lips were just a breath away, he stopped and pressed his forehead against hers instead. He chuckled at the expression on her face. "Don't look so disappointed, Akumi. I don't want to ruin your makeup," he silently explained, sending her into a flustered mess when she realized that her disappointment at the aborted kiss was glaringly obvious on her face.

"I'm not disappointed!" she denied vehemently, her head turned to the side, and whether or not she was aware that she was worrying the inside of her bottom lip, Akashi did not know. "Why should I be?"

"Because I didn't go with the kiss?" Akashi teased, pulling away from her.

Kimiko feigned ignorance. "Kiss? What kiss?" She heard another chuckle from him and her head whipped around to look at him. She frowned – he's so enjoying this. "Hey, aren't we going yet? What time are we supposed to arrive at the venue?"

He did not even check the time. "It's still early, Akumi. Back to our original topic, though–"

"No, we're not going back there," she said, the redness of her face almost matching her dress.

"As you wish." Akashi then went over to his closet and took something out. Curious, Kimiko approached him and saw that it was a kind of a cloak, which he held out to her. "This is for you," he answered, and draped the silky dark material over her shoulders. He fastened it close with a gold brooch at the base of her neck, then carefully fixed her hair that had gotten underneath the fabric. "There."

"Thanks," was all she managed to say in response.

"Nervous?" he asked. There was no point in lying, so Kimiko merely nodded. "Don't be. I'll be there with you, alright?"

"Alright."

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 _If she were to be honest with herself, Kimiko was this close to blowing a fuse._

 _Standing beside Vincent, with her head held high with a smile playing on her lips as she politely greeted and acknowledged everyone who paid attention to the delicate Japanese_ hime _standing beside the elven prince. She laughed, remembering their reflection in the mirror earlier. They do paint a very fine picture, she decided._

 _She laughed lightly to herself._

 _"Did you find something amusing?" came his silent voice in her ear._

 _"Hm-mm. I am stuck to imagining ridiculous things to entertain myself," she shot back with a groan. "God, how boring can this events be?"_

 _Vincent chuckled quietly. "You're doing a pretty good job."_

 _Kimiko stifled the urge to heave an exasperated sigh. "How hard can it be to stand here and be pretty?" She smiled and nodded at a couple who raised their glasses to her as they passed them by. He silently agreed with her, even though the girl was just being sarcastic when she said that. He'd been tasked to keep watch over her during the public dinner to observe her behavior, and Kimiko had been doing excellently so far that one can almost say that she'd always belonged in there with them. She'd been nothing but charmingly polite and had all but enchanted everyone in their table during dinner earlier, and had accepted a couple of dances from several young bachelors. She'd stepped on their toes, but she was so adorable getting flustered over her mistake that her dance partners assured her that it was perfectly alright, even though Vincent swore he'd seen her smirk evilly when she thought no one was looking._

 _Integrating her into the De Saint-Pierre family might be easier and sooner than they had thought it to be._

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Akashi was conscious of the warmth emanating from Kimiko's bare skin underneath his fingertips, his hand at the small of her back as they stood at the top of the grand staircase leading to the magnificent ballroom down below. As their names were announced, he felt her mild hesitation at the way everyone seemed to pause and look at them with varying expressions.

"A moment please, Akashi-san," one of the photographers called, and Akashi adjusted his hold on her, wrapping his arm around her waist as they posed for the cameras. It was quick compared to the one they had to endure outside at the lobby, where they were held up at the official photo booth longer than any of the other guests (it seems), and while Akashi was used to such treatment, he silently applauded the calmness of the chartreusette as she smiled at the lens.

 _(Thinking back, perhaps that was also partly the reason for the hold-up. Kimiko was such a dear, nodding her head and smiling sweetly at the media as they tried to catch her attention to look directly into their cameras. The main reason is that they recognized her from the magazine, and already he'd heard of some reporters requesting to have an interview with her later.)_

An usher received them at the foot of the stairs and proceeded to show them to their table when he felt her tug on his arm. "Aren't you going to make your rounds?"

"In a little while," he replied, loud enough for her to hear him above the gay tune of the orchestra. "You should rest your feet; you must be tired from standing on those heels for too long."

She shook her head. Of course, he'd worry about the well-being of her feet. "No, I'm alright. Don't let me hold you back."

"Are you sure?" They stopped walking while their usher waited patiently for them. Deciding for the both of them, Kimiko thanked the man and dismissed him politely before turning back to the still ( _fretting_ ) redhead beside her.

Akashi sighed in resignation. "Very well." As if on cue, an older man dressed in navy suit went up to them, holding a tablet showing what looks like a checklist.

A curt order fell from the redhead's lips. "Report."

A string of names were mentioned, some of them she recognized from the news, and as Akashi listened to his servant, Kimiko felt _(he refrained from showing it on his face_ ) the flashes of displeasure at several of the personalities that were mentioned.

"I see. Notify me when the rest of them arrives," Akashi said, and with a respectful bow of his head to the younger male, the man left them and resumed his post near the stairs to keep track of the arriving guests. Akashi turned to her then, his gaze flickering to the people around them then back at her questioning golden one. "Well then, let's get this started and over with."

One of the servers pass them by and Akashi eyed the drinks on the tray carefully before taking two glasses. Seeing how she was looking at the glass he was holding out to her, Akashi almost grinned. "They're non-alcoholic, Akumi. Of course, you don't have to drink them if you don't want to," he said as they approached the first person that Akashi has to greet for the evening.

She sniffed the contents mildly as she brought it to her lips. "You worry too much," she said with an amused tone, taking a tentative sip of the liquid. "I've tasted my fair share of wine and champagne on several occasions, you know. Just family gatherings," she added before he could even ask. Steering the conversation back to the present, she gestured with her glass at the tables. "So, how many are invited to this party?"

"Two-hundred and fifty, if everyone shows up," Akashi said, drinking from his own glass. For some reason, Kimiko couldn't look away as his throat moved as he swallowed his drink, and didn't realize that she was doing it until her eyes clashed with his.

And then he smirked. "You're staring."

"No," came her quick denial. "No, I'm not."

But what Akashi was about to say was lost as an elderly couple with regal looks approached them from their right.

"Seijuurou-kun! Looking dashing as always, my young man," the woman cried out, as if he was one of her favorite grandchildren.

"Yui-san," Akashi's smile was polite ( _and distant, Kimiko thought_ ) as he shook hands with them. "Kobayashi-san." They looked friendly enough, but the man had the same expression as Akashi's, if a bit more hostile _(or was it just her imagination?)_

She adjusted her hold on her purse and the movement caught the man's attention. Glittering dark eyes shifted its focus, shrewd and judgmental. "Who's the lovely lady, Seijuurou-kun? I'm afraid I haven't seen her before."

The hand on her waist tightened imperceptibly. He was clearly not pleased with the look he was giving the chartreusette. "Kobayashi-san, this is Kimiko Akumi," his voice perfectly neutral, "and Akumi, this is Kobayashi Fugaku and his wife, Kobayashi Yui."

 _Two can play this game,_ she thought. "Pleased to meet you," she said and bowed her head slightly before one of them could offer their hand for them to shake, just to be safe. She'd rather bow than wait for them to do something first.

"A pleasure to meet you, dear," Yui said, but the words were oddly strained. "I believe we've taken much of your time, Seijuurou-kun. We haven't been to our table yet, but if we're lucky, perhaps we'll see you there?"

"We'll be going as well," Akashi replied, ignoring the rest of what was said in favor of placing his empty glass on the tray of a passing server. All of his guards were carefully in place, isolating himself from everyone, reminding her of the Emperor. "Have a good evening, Kobayashi-san, Yui-san. Let's go, Akumi." The group broke up, and once again, the two of them were alone.

"Are you alright?" he asked her as she took the last sip of her wine. He sounded more like the one she knew. Idly she wondered how it felt for him, donning masks and shedding them in the blink of an eye and then putting them back on in a heartbeat.

"I now understand why you always return with a foul mood from these gatherings," she grumbled as Akashi relieved her of her empty glass. She looked around them, at the magnificent ballroom and the well-dressed guests, "All this beauty, for nothing."

"Hm," he agreed silently. Suddenly, the idea of bringing her here is turning up to be a big mistake on his part. Kimiko does not deserve to be subjected to their judgmental thoughts.

But Kimiko, as if hearing his unspoken sentiments, quickly reassured him. She accepted the invitation; it's not like he forced her into it. "I can handle it, so just go on with what you have to do," she looked up at him. "I'm alright. They'll have to try harder to intimidate me, you know."

"Are you sure?" He can escort her out and go back, no problem.

"Don't be silly, Seijuurou," she chided. Squaring her shoulders, she put on her best immaculate facade worthy of a court lady. "Let's get this show on the road, eh?"

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For the next half-hour, Akashi led her in a whirlwind of introductions, with Akashi giving her short lectures about certain individuals. Her mind reeled as Akashi exposed the other side of them – the dark and disgusting parts of them. Stories of murders and cover-ups and infidelities and other kinds of evil things she'd never guessed about them.

 _("I wouldn't blame them if they want to cover themselves with anything that shines or sparkles enough to blind even their own eyes," Akashi murmured as he passed by a certain group of people. "They probably can't bear seeing their own reflection in the mirror; it must disgust them so.")_

The Kobayashis had been talking about them, as Kimiko noticed the rest of the guests – those that Akashi had deemed insignificant to approach and greet personally – sought them out to see the 'exotic beauty' that the Akashi-heir had brought with him tonight.

( _It sounded like she was a mere possession than an actual person.)_

Kimiko was forced to shake hands with the younger males, bow her head to the older ones, and exchange cheek-to-cheek kisses with the females, even when some of them looked like they would rather ignore her in favor of getting the attention of the red-haired male who was keeping a close watch over her, his arm or hand never leaving her waist or the small of her back. All of them harbored feelings of suspicion and wonder at her rather sudden appearance among them, some of them hiding it behind social niceties while others are not subtle about it. She met the other scions of major companies ( _who had the audacity to try and flirt with her much to her chagrin and Akashi's irritation_ ), shook hands with the Crown Prince ( _whom she discovered was Akashi's rival in shogi as well as in horseback riding_ ), and the worst of them all, the jealous heiresses and daughters who felt like she stole Akashi from them. She dealt with them the best as she could, smiling pleasantly and conversing with them amiably until Akashi decided that it was enough banter before pulling her out of there and starting the whole tiresome process with another group of people.

 _("Really, the whole point of going to these parties is to maintain relationships and spy on one another," Akashi told her. "And of course, to show that you are better than the others. No one really cares about the 'charity' part." After he told her the huge sum that the Akashi Corporation had donated for the cause, a bitter smile formed on his lips. "People think that we are generous when everything is just a tax write-off.")_

Despite him telling her how much he despise doing it, Kimiko saw how Akashi exchanged witty banter with the other guests, playing them like puppets, controlling the flow of conversation masterfully, accommodating everyone so that no one won't be left out – the ever-perfect host. It mesmerized her just as it creep her out and saddened her at the same time. It's a given that Akashi is a very charismatic person, but this, Kimiko thought, was not his natural charm, but one that's sinisterly manipulating other people's will to cater to his whims and needs.

It was an awesome performance, how he convincingly played the part of the young debonair who was eager to please and impress while still maintaining the air of authority of an Akashi.

There were questions aimed at her and her relationship with Akashi _(these she deflected expertly – Akashi is not the only one who has an edge when it comes to wordplay, and if it comes down to it, Kimiko was confident that she can parley with the best of them)_ , and then there were personal questions, asking her about her parents, their profession, until one of the celebrities in attendance – and a known fashion icon by those in their age group - ( _who was actually just passing by and caught a glimpse of her unique hair color)_ suddenly glided over and fawned over her like they were long lost friends.

"Oh my god oh my god oh my god! I thought they were joking but here you are! In the flesh!" the actress who was older by seven years to Kimiko's sixteen ( _and married to one of the owners of Japan's biggest entertainment industry)_ , hugged her dramatically.

"Hotaru-san," Akashi said, stepping between the two of them and shielding the bewildered chartreusette from the hyperactive lady.

"Ah, Seijuurou-san! Will you do the introductions? I didn't get her name," Hotaru pleaded with puppy eyes that hardly had an effect on the redhead.

"Hotaru-san, this is Kimiko Akumi. Akumi, Hotaru Fujiko – I'm sure you know her."

"Oh, and a pretty name to match the pretty face! You know, I really love your pictures with that other model, Kise Ryouta! You were so beautiful in all your shots, but in person, you're much, much prettier!" she gushed, holding Kimiko's hands and shaking them like a fan girl.

"Thanks you..." was all Kimiko can say, not knowing how else to respond ( _and can she stop doing that to her hands?!)_

By then, Hotaru's loud mouth had done its job. The word 'model' had been mentioned in the same sentence along with her name. Already those who heard it were talking about her in hushed whispers and she had to stop herself from face-palming in the middle of the room.

While Kimiko was occupied with Hotaru, Akashi barely heard the annoying voice that had called his name so happily.

"Seijuurou-kun~!"

The brown-haired beauty that came barreling from Akashi's other side and attaching itself to his arm was the one that she recognized as Inoue Hikari, looking absolutely stunning ( _revolting, in Akashi's opinion_ ) in her gown in black velvet, with a plunging neckline showing the middle of her chest and a slit along the side of her leg up to her thigh.

"Where were you? Were you avoiding me?" she asked in that cutesy voice that made everyone around them want to puke.

Akashi pulled his arm out of her hold _(and none too gently at that_ ) and glared at the girl who was gaping at him like a fish out of water. "Inoue-san, how long will you continue calling me in such a disrespectful manner?"

"But Sei-" Akashi's glare just turned murderous. "Akashi-kun..." she said, "let's go to our table! The ceremonies are about to start! Come on, come on, come on~!"

She was right, though. A single pianist had taken over the music as the orchestra took a break, and the rest of the guests were already settling down. Akashi looked behind him and saw Kimiko still talking with the noisy actress. Perhaps it's time to save her, then.

"You're a model?" One of the ladies asked her with a slight raise of her eyebrows.

Kimiko shook her head, and would've used her hands as well if only Hotaru wasn't clinging to them like a leech.

"You're not?" Hotaru pouted, her amethyst eyes ( _contacts)_ shining.

Kimiko sweatdropped. "Ah, that was a one-time thing, actually. It's a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, nothing more..."

"Too bad," the violet-eyed beauty ( _finally!)_ released her at the sight of the approaching Akashi heir. She rummaged in her purse to take out one of her business cards and handed it over to her, smiling when Kimiko accepted it with both hands, "There. I like you, you know, and your beauty is a rare one. If you ever change your mind, just call that number, okay?"

"I'll give it some thought. Thank you, Hotaru-san."

"I won't keep you much longer – your dear prince is getting impatient~" The older woman winked at her playfully before rejoining her much older husband who had been waiting for him patiently at a distance. "I'm hoping for a favorable response from you, Kimi-chan! See you around!"

Kimiko blinked. _Prince?_

A familiar arm reclaimed its position around her waist, and Akashi's smooth tenor spoke directly in her ear. "Akumi," he said just as an usher approached them to lead them to their assigned table, the same time that Inoue Hikari caught up with the redhead after he just abandoned her abruptly.

"Sir, -"

"Who the hell is she?!" Inoue screeched like a banshee, and the poor usher blanched beside her.

Akashi merely stared at her apathetically, while Kimiko tilted her head curiously.

"Another of your acquaintances, Seijuurou?" she asked.

When Akashi didn't correct the chartreusette, Inoue was thoroughly scandalized. She stomped over to the two and stopped in front of Kimiko. She recognized her from the magazine – she was, after all, a fan of Kise ( _secretly—part of her, the prideful one, still considers the blond model as beneath her despite Kise's looks and popularity)_. The girl was indeed eye-catching, Inoue accepted that, but damn this girl – _Akashi_ _is_ _hers_!

"You!" she cried out, pointing out a dainty finger at the unflinching girl in front of her.

"Yes?" Kimiko shot back coolly, not at all bothered by the appendage that was threatening to poke her in the eye.

"What are you doing with _Sei_ —Akashi-kun?" she hissed. _Why does he allow her to call him by name?_

At this, Akashi decided to intervene. As much as he want to let Kimiko bully Inoue ( _he knows better than to trust that mischievous look on her face as she baited the brunette on purpose)_ , they really have to go to their table because in ten minutes, the program will start.

"She is _my_ date, Inoue-san, and I strongly suggest that you show respect to her, or at the very least, to yourself," and with those biting words, he left her there a second time, signaling the usher to get moving.

However, before they got out of earshot, the chartreusette actually turned to look at her.

"Nice to meet you, too, Inoue-san."

 _The hell-?_ Inoue stood dumbfounded as Akashi hurried the girl along. Her own date, whom she had ditched the moment she caught sight of Akashi, rejoined her and offered his arm to her.

"Hikari-"

"Shut up," the brunette glowered, and gathering her skirt in her hands, she stalked to her table angrily, her ego bruised greatly by a no-name girl that came from nowhere.

Suddenly she remembered – that dinner she had with the redhead..

" _Who is she, Akashi-san?" she demanded. "What does she have that I don't?"_

And his scathing reply.

" _Inoue-san, it seemed to me that you didn't hear me the first time." He glared at her this time. "Her identity is of no concern to you. As for your second question," he looked her from head to toe, a mocking look in his mismatched eyes, "she's everything you're not."_

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

Whoever decided that lumping in the teenagers in one table was clearly asking for trouble.

 _Ah, so that's what she meant,_ Akashi thought when he saw Inoue heading to the same table, escorted by a brown-haired boy that he recognized as Kawada Jun, the second son of an esteemed politician.

Inoue flashed Kimiko a dirty look, refusing the help of her escort and pulling her chair out for herself instead.

 _How_ _unbecoming_.

"Hey, Akashi," Kawada said with a wave of his hand. He's one of those mild personalities, the exact opposite of his egotistic older brother.

He's also one of Akashi's closer friends in their social circle.

"Kawada," Akashi returned, with a cordial nod of his head.

Once they were seated, Akashi took in the others in their table for ten. There was raven-haired Irino Kagura accompanied by her cousin Kyouya, who shares the same traits as her except that he was just as loud and brash ( _just think of Kise and Aomine combined),_ the silver-haired Fujiwara Shin, a terrible flirt and pervert, with his date, the equally flirty Fumio Aya, with her bleached blond hair and garishly red lips, and last but not the least, Fukada Megumi, the niece of Japan's prime minister, and with her was Hirohito Shino, the third in line to to the Imperial throne.

 _(The seating order was, going clockwise, as indicated by the place cards on their table: Kimiko—Akashi—Kawada—Inoue—Fukada—Hirohito—Fujiwara—Fumio—Kyouya—Kagura.)_

As always, Akashi had been the last to arrive, and it only heightened the attention directed at him and Kimiko. Barely had they taken their seats when Fujiwara leaned forward in his seat ( _and thank kami that he was seated at the side, not directly across or next to him or Kimiko)_ and asked for an introduction to the golden-eyed lady.

"Who cares about her?" Inoue asked from her seat across Fujiwara.

"Inoue-san, you're being rude," Hirohito admonished firmly. "I apologize for her rudeness. Inoue-san is in one of her moods," this he said to Kimiko with an apologetic smile. "I'm Hirohito Shino, and just call me by name and none of that 'Your Imperial Highness' stuff, at least for the duration of the party. It was nice to meet you…?"

"Kimiko Akumi, pleased to make your acquaintance, Hirohito-san, and you too, Fujiwara-san."

"Please, just Shin, Akumi-chan," he punctuated his sentence with a wink. Kyouya roared with laughter, Kawada gave a troubled sigh, while Hirohito dropped his forehead to his hands. It seems that they knew each other well enough to know each others personalities and behavior.

Fukada giggled when she caught sight of Akashi's expression. "Oi, Fujiwara-kun, stop that before Akashi-kun here kills you."

"Psh, we all know he wouldn't~"

Akashi movements were deliberate as he picked up his glass of mineral water. Peering at the insolent male through the rim of his glass, he asked casually, "Shall we put it to the test?" before taking a careful sip. His words sounded serious even though his actions were of nonchalance, but almost everyone in their table froze as they recognized the silent threat in the redhead's question.

Personally, Kimiko prefers being called by her first name, but for the sake of everyone on their table ( _yes, including that bitch Inoue_ ), she had to clear the tension in the air. "It's either 'Kimiko' or 'Kimiko-san', Fujiwara-san; or Seijuurou might really have to go through with it," she said evenly.

"Not even 'Akumi'?" he asked, pouting for effect.

"You're pushing your luck, Fujiwara," Akashi replied. The table knife suddenly looked fascinating to him, but before he could pick it up, a hand came up and covered it.

"No flying knives tonight, Seijuurou," Kimiko said in silent mirth.

 _Flying...knives… What?_ Kawada, who was seated right next to the redhead, heard her and stared at her hand blocking the redhead's access to said silverware. _Seriously? But if it's Akashi-_

Most of the time, it's nice to have someone who can understand you without having to speak a single word, but sometimes, it's annoying. _Right now would be a perfect_ _example_ _of_ _that_ , Akashi thought.

( _And like most of the time, when they were having a conversation, everyone and everything cease to exist – just him and her – thus they failed to see the faces of their companions when they finally understood just what they were going on about – and why the chartreusette's hand was covering the gleaming knife on Akashi's table setting.)_

Thankfully, the main coordinator of the gala, who was Fumio's father, stepped up on the podium to give the welcome remarks.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the _Lampe Rogue_ Ball, the annual charity ball dedicated to helping cancer patients all over the country. Tonight, we will be raffling five of Japan's best jewelries to five lucky ladies in attendance, where they will have the chance of a lifetime to wear them for the rest of the party." Here, the audience claps in anticipation. "Of course, I would like to thank you all for gracing us with your presence, especially our most honored Crown Prince Naruhito," Hirohito's father stood up and waved at everyone from his seat at the central table while everyone applauded, "Thank you. Special mention to the Akashi family – I believe the heir is here – there he is!-" Akashi stands up and gives a graceful bow to everyone- "who have been with the organization since its inception. Thank you." Fumio bows in the direction of their table before continuing with his speech. "I feel that's a long enough speech, and we have a lot to do later – an auction, dancing, and of course, the food! I believe everyone's starving right now after all the socialization-" the crowd laughs "So let's get to it. Once again, thank you and good evening."

Kimiko claps her hands politely as Fumio descends the stage as their emcee for the night takes over. "Everyone, please be seated. Dinner will be served shortly."

The orchestra resumes their playing as servers emerged from the kitchens carrying trays laden with food. As they wait, Kimiko picks up the gold-embellished menu that was customized according to their age ( _and thus the absence of wine or any alcoholic drinks)_ and skims over it.

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

- **x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

 _ **Lampe Rouge**_ **Ball**

 **MENU**

 **-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

 **Saltimbocca**

 _Grilled chicken wrapped with Basil, Italian Fontina and Prosciutto, drizzled with Pesto_

 **-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

 **Grilled Flat Iron Steak with Cracked Spice and Sea Salt Rub**

 _Paired with_

 **Shrimp and Sea Scallop Brochette**

 _Accompanied by_

 _Red Wine Pan Sauce, Herb Whipped Yukon Potatoes and Sauteed Brussel Sprouts_

 **-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

 **Pear and Apricot Crostata**

 _With Creme Anglaise and Fresh Homemade Whipped Cream_

 **-x-x-x-x-x-x-**

 _Freshly Brewed Columbian Coffee, Decaffeinated Coffee and Fine Tea Assortment_

 _Sparkling Water and Juice_

 **-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-  
**

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

"Do you have any problem with the food choices?" Akashi asked quietly so only she can hear. Kimiko places the menu back on the table just as their servers arrive.

"Nope. I don't even know half of what was written there," she mumbles jokingly, making Akashi laugh under his breath as their starters were served.

As they ate, conversation flowed around their table, although for the most part, Kimiko participated little, speaking only when directly spoken to or when it was Akashi who was talking, opting to make idle chatter with the quiet girl on her other side. Akashi is in a philosophical discussion with Kawada and Hirohito – just a friendly debate about their beliefs – but still pretty intense and amusing to listen to. Inoue had decided to exchange seats with Hirohito just before the main dish was served, saying that she'd rather rather talk to Fujiwara than to be caught in the crossfire of the three ( _after her failed attempts of joining their conversation that was too intellectual for her to comprehend)._

When they were down to eating dessert, the emcee went on stage and began to explain the mechanics of the raffle. A large crystal bowl perched on a low pillar was standing near the podium, and there were little rolls of paper tied with little silver ribbons. The rolled papers, he explained, contained the names of every female attendee in the room, five of which will be chosen to wear one of the five jeweled necklaces that will be shown to them in a short while.

"Gentlemen, kindly take the place cards of your lovely dates and remove the sticker paper at the back. There will be a number from 1 to 5 written underneath. Remember those numbers because we'll need them later."

Akashi followed the emcee's instructions and the number 4 in gold ink revealed itself to him.

Kimiko was craning her neck to take a look. "What's my number?"

"Take a guess," Akashi said, hiding it from her.

"How many tries?" she asked, rising to the challenge.

"Just one."

"Just one?" she echoed incredulously. "Eh, fine. Your jersey number then." It was the first thing that came to her mind.

Akashi couldn't stop the grin that was coming. "Correct."

The voice of the emcee came once more. "Now then, I present to you the _Kojiki_ jewellery series, five exquisite necklaces inspired by five of the greatest deities in the Shinto religion!"

Five holes opened on the floor of the stage, and there rose from underneath, five glass cases mounted on gold pillars amid the polite applause of the crowd. The emcee then proceeded to give a brief description for each piece.

The first one was the _Inari_ piece, based on the god of rice and agriculture. It looks like a vine with the main stone, a brownish-yellow diamond, hanging from the stem, where crystals shaped like rice grains in gold setting dangle from the chain.

The second one, the _Izanami,_ was a magnificent creation with pink diamonds, with each pink diamond highlighted by a cluster of white marquise and pear-shaped diamonds set in platinum and white gold. The placement of the diamonds creates a floral effect making the necklace look like a leigh of flowers, signifying feminity in honor of the goddess.

The third one, _Susanoo,_ after the god of the sea and storms, features a heart-shaped blue diamond as its pendant, bounded by white diamonds on the edges and hangs from a string of white diamonds.

The fourth is the _Amaterasu,_ after the sun goddess, and perhaps the most elaborate piece of the five. It has two yellow diamonds and a bloodred ruby lined vertically in the center, accentuated by small diamonds set in platinum. A big red diamond acts like an anchor and pulls the chokers down to fully emphasize the overall shape and style of the necklace.

And lastly, the _Tsukuyomi_ for the moon god, with it's large pear-shaped diamond linked to a smaller round diamond hanging off a simple chain of white gold.

"Now, remember your numbers, ladies and gentlemen. May I request our Crown Prince to come onstage and do the honors of picking the five lucky ladies for tonight?"

When all five rolled papers were chosen, the emcee opened and read them in the order that the Crown Prince has picked them.

"All the ladies with the number one, kindly stand up," the emcee said a he stood next to the _Inari_ display. In their table, Fumio got to her feet. "The lucky lady to wear the _Inari_ necklace is...Koharu Rin!"

Heads turned to see the first winner of the night. Koharu Rin, with her strawberry blond hair and svelte figure was escorted by her husband to the stage, where the creator of the _Inari_ did the honors of getting it out from the case, then turned it over for her husband to put it on her.

"Lucky Koharu-san!" the emcee said as the clapping finally receded. "Ladies with the number 2, please..."

The _Izanami_ was given to Hotaru, who almost cried tears of joy when her name was called, while the _Susanoo_ was won by Kagura, who can barely walk properly while her cousin practically dragged her to the stage in excitement. In the end, the creator of the _Susanoo_ was the one who put the necklace on her, as he did not trust the hyperactive teen to handle such a delicate accessory.

"Number four, please," the emcee called out. "Let's see whose the lucky lady to wear the elaborate _Amaterasu_ necklace!" Slowly, he undid the ribbon and unrolled the small piece of paper. His eyes widened as he read the name. "Ohoho~ Two winners in one table… Lucky—very lucky indeed!"

Akashi squeezed Kimiko's hand. "It's going to be you."

"Nah," the chartreusette was completely at ease with her head leaning on his chest. "I'm not getting my hopes up."

But barely had she said the words when the emcee looked in their direction and pointed at her. "Kimiko Akumi for the _Amaterasu!"_

Clearly, the girl was not expecting her to have her name chosen – not when Kagura had been called before her. "What? Did he just say my name?"

Akashi pressed a kiss to the side of her head fleetingly. "He just did. Now come on, let's claim your prize."

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

"What is it with you and dancing?" Kimiko muttered as Akashi led her in a slow waltz in the middle of the ballroom. After the last piece, the _Tsukuyomi_ , was given to a middle-aged woman with graying hair, the five of them were made to assemble in the middle of the ball room for the first dance of the evening.

Akashi smiles down at her with a faraway look in his eyes. "Mother loved dancing… She was the one who taught me how to."

"And now you're passing them on to me?" Kimiko asked.

"Hm. You're a fast learner," and they turned, swaying in time to the music. She was yet to make a mistake, and the song they're dancing to is already nearing its end.

 _(And perhaps he shouldn't have complimented her because a few steps later, when her face was burning red as the ruby on her throat, her heels dug into his left foot.)_

To his credit, Akashi didn't even flinch. Kimiko's eyes were wide with mortification. "Oh, sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to-"

And Akashi _(damn his perfect self)_ chuckled at her apologies and kept dancing.

 _(Even when it hurts, he didn't—wouldn't—let go of her.)_

When the next song began, Kimiko stopped for a moment, then abruptly gave a small bark of laughter.

"What?" Akashi asked her, wondering what it was that she found amusing all of a sudden.

"I know this song!" she beamed as he guided her in a twirl. The light from the overhead chandelier reflected off the gems around her neck in crimson and gold. She began to sing the lyrics softly in that sweet and soothing voice of hers.

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

 **Anata to no ai ga kono mama zutto yozora ni negau no**

 **kono te wa mada hanasenai**

 _I wish that our love will continue like this forever to the night sky_

 _I cannot release this hand of yours just yet_

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They held each other in that standard ballroom position _(her left hand on his right shoulder, his left hand on her right side of her waist, their free hands with fingers intertwined)_ , yet he felt like they weren't close enough.

As a child, Akashi was never showered with physical affection – his mother can only do so much with his strict father around. He was made to believe that to feel is to a weakness, and weakness has no place for an Akashi heir. When his mother died, he didn't know what or how to feel – his emotions were that out of sync during those years, and only when he enrolled in Teikou Middle and met these colorful bunch of people that he started to feel human again. However, it was not that easy to reverse the damage – he never let himself fully relax even in the presence of his trusted teammates _(there's a distance, not much but it's there)_ , still hesitant to open himself to others _(there's always something that holds him back, a voice in his head that whispers the possible consequences of getting close to another human being)_ until this chartreusette came along, invading his personal space like she has every right to be there and breaking all his walls with abandon.

He himself wondered why he didn't stop her then _(he could have—should have—but he didn't)_ instead, he let her do as she please. The first few times, he'd spent hours overthinking about it but eventually gave up on making sense of it. Unlike others, her touch was not unwelcome – and before he knew it, he was already returning the gesture.

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

 **Nanigenai hibi kurikaeshiteta nani mo kowakunakatta**

 **Futari de ashita wo mukaerareru koto ga atarimae datta ne**

 _In the casual repeating days, I wasn't afraid of anything_

 _It seemed obvious that we'd be able to greet tomorrow together, right?_

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

Kimiko was still humming to the music, unaware of where his thoughts had been. She didn't even question him when he transferred the hand that he was holding so that she had both of her hands on his shoulders, while he placed his other hand on her waist. He only saw her lips curl in a smile as she continued singing.

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

 **Tsuyoi hitomi ni mamorarete iru kono toki ga tomareba ii no ni**

 **Takusan no hikari ni terasareta yokogao miteitai**

 _Being protected by your strong eyes, if only this time could just stop_

 _I want to be able to see your profile lit by lot of lights_

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

Her eyes met his, and he felt her hands move to the back of his neck, as she interlaced her fingers and bringing their bodies closer, her chin almost resting on his broad shoulder.

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

 **Anata to no ai ga eien de aru you ni yozora ni negau no**

 **Kono te wa mada hanasenai**

 _I wish that our love will be eternal to the night sky_

 _I cannot release this hand of yours just yet_

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

Akashi rarely shows genuine emotions in hostile environments like the one they were currently in, but in that moment, as she sang of love and eternal promises to his ear, he shed the mask he wore, choosing to hide his face in the curtain of her hair.

Out of sight, the Akashi heir smiled.

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

Kimiko stumbled into the room and throws herself into the couch, simultaneously flinging the cloak off her shoulders into the adjacent love seat. "I'm sooo tired..." she groans as she tries to rest her head against the backrest, only to be hindered by her hair. Akashi follows behind her, shedding his jacket and flings it to where her cloak lay in a crumpled heap. When he sat down next to her, they both look at one another and as if on an unspoken order, Kimiko reaches towards him to loosen his tie while he leans forward to release her hair from the barrette that was holding it up, threading his fingers through the tangled curls of chartreuse as they cascade down her bared shoulders.

"Sorry for making you go through all that," Akashi murmurs, and Kimiko lets her head fall to his shoulders none too lightly.

"It's not that bad – even though the menu was hard to comprehend and that they failed to mention that the _Amaterasu_ necklace weighs a ton..." she laughs, and Akashi joins her with his quiet chuckle.

"No one could have worn it better than you," he tells her, and she slaps his arm jokingly.

"I've had enough compliments from you to last a lifetime, Seijuurou," she says, "unless you're fishing for one from me?"

Akashi snorts. "Now you're being absurd. Get your feet up," he pats his kneecaps. "Come on, Akumi."

She eyes him suspiciously. "What for?"

Without replying, Akashi dropped to his knees on the floor in front of her and grabs her right ankle and takes off her sandals, one after the other. Placing them under the coffee table, he looks up at the startled girl and asked her simply, "You either get your feet up there, or would you rather have me sit down here while I massage your feet?"

"Eh? Massage?" she exclaimed. "You don't have to-"

Akashi cut her off with a frown. "You limped all the way back here," he said. "You've danced in those heels for hours and I'm sure that your feet are hurting by now. A massage will help relieve the pain."

"But Seijuurou–"

Akashi, in his Brioni pants, sat on the carpeted floor and reached for her foot.

"Fine! Just get up here or you'll ruin your pants!"

"Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Akashi teased when they were settled comfortably in their positions. Kimiko had her back to the armrest, legs straight on the couch, her feet resting on Akashi's lap.

"Aren't you worried about my feet being dirty or something?"

"There are far more disgusting things in the world compared to your feet, Akumi," and to prove his point, Akashi picked up her right foot and trailed his finger down the sole of it, while Kimiko was trying hard not to react to the ticklish sensation it produced. Akashi noticed this of course. "Oh, so you're ticklish here?"

Golden eyes glared at him. "Don't you dare."

His eyes were shining with mischief. "I'm just asking, Akumi. No need to get so worked up about it."

"Just get on with the massage, Seijuurou," she sighed in exasperation and rested the side of her head on the couch's backrest.

Akashi adjusted his hold on her foot and began squeezing it from top to bottom in even, circulating movements. A soft hum of approval came from Kimiko's lips when he pressed a thumb into the arch of her foot, her eyes drifting close as his hands worked over her foot, rubbing her heel with just the right amount of pressure. After a few minutes, Akashi switched to her other foot and repeating the process as she relished every squeeze he made, relaxing all the tense muscles and tendons.

"That feels... good _,_ " Kimiko murmured, followed by a deep breath.

It was faint, but Akashi's ears were sharp enough to catch her whispered words. His stomach clenched at the sound of her voice, breathy and dazed at the pleasure overload.

His hands stilled.

"Seijuurou," came the sleepy voice of the chartreusette. _(Does she have to sound that way?)_ "Are you done?"

Akashi blinked, clearing his thoughts. He glanced at his hands that were still holding her feet captive. Releasing it, he nodded at her, unable to look her directly in the eye just yet.

A sudden reminder gave him the perfect excuse to move away from her. He stood up to wash his hands and went to his bedside table, pulling open the topmost drawer and retrieving the items that Jeanne had promised him would be there. When he returned to the couch, Kimiko had taken her legs off the couch.

"What's that?" Kimiko asked him, reaching for the bottle on the coffee table. She silently read the label.

"Jeanne gave it to me for you to use." He tore open the pack of cotton balls and took the bottle of makeup remover from her hands. A thoroughly soaked cotton ball later, Akashi sat down next to her and held her chin gently with his thumb and forefinger. "Close your eyes."

Another round of protesting from the chartreusette started but ended with her huffing in annoyance as Akashi left her no choice but to comply with his orders. She grumbled as he gently swipes the cotton over her eyelids to remove the black eyeliner and mascara.

"Why are you being so attentive to me right now, Seijuurou?"

Akashi discarded the first cotton ball and prepared another, wetting it generously with the liquid remover. Moving to her other eye, he replied, "Is it wrong of me to want to take care of you?"

The blush on her cheeks seemed redder than before. "Th-that's not what I meant."

"Since it was my idea to invite you to the ball, it is my responsibility to take care of you before, during, and after," he replied with amusement. "However, to say that that was the main reason would be a lie."

Deeming it safe to open her eyes, Kimiko watched as the fearsome captain of Rakuzan readied another remover-soaked cotton ball, not bothered by the fact that he was doing something as feminine as removing makeup from another person's face.

"Then why?"

" _My bounty is as boundless as the sea,/ My love as deep; the more I give to thee / The more I have, for both are infinite,"_ Akashi replied.

" _O blessèd, blessèd night! I am afeard, / Being in night, all this is but a dream, / Too flattering sweet to be substantial,"_ countered Kimiko, whose heart was beating too loud and fast far too much for her liking. How she managed to remember the next stanza of that particular play was a miracle in itself.

Or maybe not.

She gulped when Akashi dropped the cotton ball on the table with his eyes locked on hers. Shattered red and gold darkened in an indiscernible expression.

 _It was the wrong answer, after all_ , she thought, dismayed.

" _Doubt that the sun doth move, doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love,_ " he all but snarled at her before he lowered his mouth down to hers for a kiss – one that she'd been denied earlier.

It started off as a chaste kiss, lips merely brushing each other. She started to pull away to respond, but Akashi suddenly took control once more, his fingers finding their way through the tangled mess that was her hair, kissing her with an aggressiveness as if he was staking his claim on her all over again. Not wanting to be outdone, she reached out and tangled in his crimson locks and this time, she was the one to pull him down to her as her finger traced a path from his head to the back of his neck.

Smirking, Akashi retaliated by trailing his hand down the curve of her spine, and her reaction – a surprised gasp – was what he was truly after.

A whimper escape her as she the lack of oxygen made itself known, and Akashi _(reluctantly)_ pulled away by a mere inch. Their breaths mingled as they panted from the intensity of the kiss. Gazes locked as they gauged each others reactions with their hyper aware senses. Wanting to clear the misunderstanding ( _or so she thought_ ), Kimiko spoke up.

"Seijuurou, what I said earlier… It's not that I am doubting you—how many times have I told you that? I just said that part because, it's what Romeo said in answer to Juliet, right?" she explained with a pout. "You just have to go Shakespeare on me… Look where it took us."

"I happen to like the end result very much," Akashi told her. Again with the impulsiveness—if he was not careful, he'll get obsessed with her lips. She was that intoxicating, and Akashi doesn't want to stop once he started kissing her.

"Hey."

"Hm?" They'd calmed down from the euphoria and had taken to just sitting there and enjoying each others presence.

Kimiko narrowed her eyes at him. "This has been bugging me since that time we first did it, you know..."

"What is?" She sounded serious, so it made Akashi sit up a little straighter _(as much as his tired body allowed him to—that and snuggling up like this is so comfortable than anything)._

Of the hundreds of possibilities that his mind could made up, she said the one thing that he hadn't thought of.

"Since when did you learn how to-" Her eyes flit to the side. "- _k-kiss_ like that?"

Out of nowhere, Akashi was hit with a burst of hilarity.

"Oi, it's not funny!" Kimiko growls at him, flicking his nose none too gently with her finger.

Akashi drew away and snorts. "What is there to be bothered about it?"

"How many have you kissed before-?" she blurted out, then clapped a hand to her mouth when his hands fell away. "Ugh, forget it. It's not important."

She moves to stand up, but Akashi grabs a hold of her arm. "You're upset."

"I'm not."

Her head was bowed as she looked down. "I'm sorry."

He pulled himself to his feet. "There was no one before you, Akumi. Only you." Without her heels, the top of her head reaches his ear. "What made you think otherwise?"

"Because—Ugh! Stop smirking! You're making it worse!"

"You don't know that. You're looking at the floor, not my face."

"I just know, okay? You didn't even bother to deny it."

"Hm. Perhaps I am, perhaps not."

She glared at him. "Smartass."

He only raised his eyebrows at that.

Kimiko threw her hands in the air. "I give up," she said, then stormed off to the bedroom, with Akashi following her carrying his suit and her cloak in the crook of his arm.

They carried on with their own business – Kimiko taking out her nightclothes while Akashi was putting away the used garments properly. As she passed him on the way to the bathroom, Akashi chuckled.

"Was it really that hard to believe, Akumi?"

A roll of her eyes was all he got in reply. When she was gone, he changed into his sleeping clothes as well. After she had stashed the gown safely in her closet, Akashi joined her in the bathroom as they brushed their teeth in front of the porcelain sink.

It was amusing to watch their reflections in the mirror, a disgruntled girl and a very dignified boy doing the same thing yet so differently. Kimiko's movements were lazy, sluggish. Akashi's were refined, precise, almost robotic. Seeing her peek at him every once in a while, Akashi gargled water in his mouth without a sound then turned to the chartreusette who was trying her best to ignore him.

"Is there something you want to say, Akumi?"

She picked up her glass and gargled the water in her mouth loudly, as if the sound will somehow distract her from the redhead beside her.

Only to spit it out in a second when Akashi had the audacity to poke her in the side of the ribs, knowing that she was ticklish in that area.

"I could have drowned!" she complained, wiping the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.

"I would have resuscitated you, then," he simply replied, and then noticed her choice of clothing. " _Tokoro de,_ Akumi, whose shirt is that you're wearing?"

Kimiko picked at the orange shirt that she was wearing. "This is from Ryouta."

Akashi imagined the blond wearing such bright colored shirt with his golden hair. "Being a model, I thought that Kise would have a proper fashion sense to not wear something as hideous as that."

"It's not his fault that the manager of the soccer team in Teikou back in our first year has an undying love for all things orange. He provided the players with this as training clothes."

Akashi was not really listening as he finished brushing his teeth. While he waited for her, he leaned on the door frame and promptly declared, "You look like a carrot."

"Tell that to Shintarou." she said, puffing out her cheeks as she dried her face with a towel.

"You're the neon-version of him in Shutoku's uniform."

"I'm the what?" she turned to him, lips twitching.

"A neon carrot."

Kimiko was torn between cracking up in laughter and blushing in embarrassment. "How the hell can you say that with a straight face?"

"A neon carrot," Akashi said again. Kimiko tries to look indignant but couldn't stop the laughter coming out of her mouth. She drops her face into the towel in her hands and lets out a groan of frustration when Akashi suddenly ducks out of the room after telling her to "Wait here. I'll be back."

She huffs at the empty room. _What_ _is he up to now_?

He returned with one of his wine-red long sweatshirts and tosses it to her. "Get changed in that," he said as she fingers the high-quality cloth.

 _Was the shirt really that damaging to his eyes?_ She snickered in her mind.

When she realized that he was still standing by the door _(probably waiting for her reaction)_ , she was provided with the opportunity to get back at the redhead who'd made her experience a riot of emotions the entire evening. With a cocky curl of her lips, she asked,"Well, you're not going to watch me change, ne, Seijuurou?"

How she wished she had a camera with her at the moment! Akashi's eyes widened and his mouth opened, then closed, as if he wanted to say something and not at the same time.

Never had she seen him look so scandalized in all her life.

Deciding to push him further, she took a step forward, and added, "Or are you?"

He was gone faster than she could blink.

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The lights were already dimmed when she emerged from the bathroom. As she pulled back the covers of her bed, she turned to the person lying on the other bed, his back turned to her, blankets pulled up almost all the way to his head.

She knows he's still awake, though, which made it all the more amusing.

Akashi Seijuurou is _ignoring_ her.

She giggled.

"Good night, Seijuurou," she said cheerfully as she laid her head on the pillow. She closed her eyes, knowing that he won't be responding as long as she's awake to hear it, and went to sleep.

Ten minutes later, Akashi reached out and turned off the bedside lamp, plunging the room in total darkness.

"Good night, Akumi."

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	37. 第37章

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 **逃** **亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **37** **章**

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 **ー** **1st Year, Teikou Middle School** **ー**

 _After a very unwelcome distraction_ (at least it was to their captain), _practice was dismissed ten minutes earlier than usual, and while the rest of the first-string were glad to go home, the regulars tend to stay behind, whether to practice or to fool around, no one was certain (_ it was a little of both, actually _)._

 _Kimiko entered the gym with an armful of papers and Akashi seemed to materialize out of thin air beside her, offering to take the load off her hands but not really waiting to hear her answer as he was already getting the papers from her hands as he spoke._

 _"So how was training?" she asked the current vice captain as they headed to where their fellow freshmen were huddled on one corner of the court along with their black-haired captain, Nijimura Shuuzo._

 _"Aside from the few who fainted or threw up half their lunches on the sides of the court, it went fine," Akashi replied with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, making the girl beside him to laugh merrily._

 _"They'll get used to it later on," she said, though Akashi was hardly reassured by it. As they approached the regulars, they can hear Aomine's loud voice and Nijimura's gruff ones, and Momoi squealing excitedly on the side._

 _"What's with them? And why the early dismissal?"_

 _Akashi shrugged uncaringly. "One of Nijimura-san's classmates came during practice and confessed to him in front of all the club members."_

 _"Eh?!" Kimiko exclaimed in surprise, and her eyes narrowed in what Akashi thought as anger, annoyance... Jealousy?_

She's not— She didn't... Nijimura-san? _The two were rather close after all._

 _Akashi put on his usual poker-face and asked the girl beside him in a neutral voice, "Is something wrong, Akumi?"_

 _"Of course, there is!" she snapped, gold eyes darkening. "I should have been here! Then I could have —"_

 _"Could have what?"_ Stopped the girl from making her confession?

 _"Then I could have taken a video of it!" Kimiko groaned in frustration, hands covering her face. She stomped her feet and glared at the ceiling. "Even a snapshot could do! I missed a very important event! And it's all because of those damn files!"_

 _Akashi blinked at the finger pointing at him — or specifically, at the papers in his arms. For a moment, he was struck with confusion. "You are mad because you didn't get to see the confession?" he asked, stopping in his tracks._

 _Kimiko paused as well, and looked at him quizzically. "Yes. Why? What did you think I was angry at?"_

 _"I thought you were angry at—"_

 _"You thought I was jealous?" Kimiko finished for him with a playful grin, bumping her shoulder against his, and she laughed when the red-haired boy didn't answer. "Come on, Seijuurou! You know I don't like Shuuzo that way! He's like an older brother to me. And besides, I like —"_

 _Suddenly, Aomine appeared out of nowhere and slung an arm around the girl's shoulders. "Oi, Akumi!"_

 _"Daiki!" She quickly extricated herself from the sweat-covered boy and stuck herself to the redhead's side. "Go take a shower first, you_ aho _!"_

 _Aomine blinked at her then at their vice captain, and noticed that Akashi was still yet to take a shower himself, but seeing their manager's closeness to his person, the tanned boy cannot help but glare and point it out to her._

 _"You should tell him to take a shower too!"_

 _"It's rude to point, Daiki. And Seijuurou does not stink even when he's all sweaty and shit, unlike you."_

 _"Akumi, language," Akashi said, sighing beside her while Aomine glared at the girl who insulted him._

 _"I do not stink!"_

 _"Oh, but you do, honey. Now off to the showers you go..." Kimiko crooned, shooing him off as she walked past Aomine and made a beeline to Nijimura._

 _"Shuuzo-senpai~!" she singsonged and Nijimura visibly paled at the ominous gleam in her golden eyes. "I guess it's story time, yes?"_

_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._

 _It was one of those rare times when the whole team was present during their daily ice cream afternoons. Kimiko clung to Nijimura like a leech and harassed her poor_ senpai _with a barrage of questions while the rest looked on in amusement._

 _"I'm not even of marrying age!" Nijimura screamed when Kimiko asked him about his_ secret fiancee _which Kimiko had decided for all of them that she was the reason why their captain rejected the love of the volleyball team's ace who, in the chartreusette's eyes, was a perfect match for Nijimura._

 _In an attempt to take the girl off her, Nijimura returned the question to her. "How about you?!"_

 _"Hm? What about me?"_

 _"Why don't you have a boyfriend yet?" Nijimura asked tauntingly. To his surprise, it was the others who answered for her._

 _"No." Midorima and Aomine said in unison, crossing their arms in front of them and shaking their heads disapprovingly._

 _"ABSOLUTELY NOOOOT! Not Kumi-chan!" Momoi squealed, hugging the chartreusette tightly._

 _Murasakibara stared at his teammates and asked, "Why would Kumi-chin need a boyfriend when she already have all of us?"_

 _"Murasakibara-kun, that is not —" Kuroko started but was cut off when Akashi, who had been quieter than usual, suddenly spoke up._

 _"Nijimura-san, how can Akumi have a boyfriend if we are chasing all her suitors away?"_

 _Silence._

 _Kimiko rounded up on him. "You WHAT?!"_

 _The redhead merely ignored her as he threw his popsicle stick in the trashcan. "I do agree with the others, though. Akumi doesn't need a boyfriend."_

 _"And why is that, Seijuurou?" the girl asked him, eyes wide in innocent curiosity and she was surprised when he replied,_

 _"You already have me," Akashi stated, then returned his gaze to the book he'd been reading as they lazed outside the store while his teammates and friends stared at him in shock. Several minutes later and he raised his head to look at them — Kimiko in particular — and stopped. "What?" He closed the book silently and met their gazes with a blank one of his own._

 _"Seijuurou, did you realize what you have just said?" Kimiko groaned, finding it hard to look at him in the eyes._

" _Apparently, more than half of Teikou's population believes that we are more than just friends."_

 _Something in Akashi's statement was understood by only Kimiko, and instead of getting embarrassed or angry like they thought she would, she only cocked her head with a thoughtful expression on her face._

" _Really? So how long have we been going out?"_

 _Akashi's smirk was hidden behind his book. "Some think that we already know each other before we entered Teikou. Wilder theories state that we were already engaged, since, according to their logic, we're rarely seen without the other, and therefore that equates to being engaged."_

" _Smart. However, it seems that our rings are missing," she held out her left hand in front of her._

 _As their audience watched in varying degrees of amusement and bewilderment, Akashi closed his book and tapped Kimiko's forehead with it_ (fondly, in Momoi's eyes), _and said, "Silly Akumi. We agreed not to wear them to school to hide our relationship status."_

" _Heh, but it seems like we're not being secretive enough, are we?"_

" _Hm."_

 _Aomine suddenly stepped between them, holding his arms out as if to separate them. "OKAY, WAIT, PAUSE!" he looked at the two who was confused at his actions. "YOU TWO ARE ACTUALLY TOGETHER?!"_

 _Even Nijimura couldn't believe his ears. "Huh, so that explains why you were so in tune with one another..."_

 _Midorima, whoever, was another story. "Impossible..."_ But then if they were indeed together, and actually knew each other, then it would explain a lot of things.

" _Akashi-kun and Akumi-san are merely joking around, right?" Kuroko asked to no one in particular, but Momoi heard him and squealed like a fan girl._

" _OI, QUIT IGNORING ME AND ANSWER THE QUESTION!" Aomine roared, but was promptly plucked out of the way by Murasakibara, who had went into the convenience store and brought two of those candy rings that can fit on your finger, if they are not as large as his own._

" _You can wear this instead, Kumi-chin," he said, handing her the two pieces of candy, one that's cherry-flavored, and one that's flavored with lemon and lime._

" _Oi, Murasakibara, what are you doing, nanodayo?"_

" _Hmm, giving them rings?"_

" _WHY WOULD YOU EVEN THINK OF THAT?!"_

 _Akashi recovered from Aomine's interruption and took the rings from Murasakibara with a murmured thanks. He looked at Kimiko, and yet another silent agreement was made. Opening the yellow-green one, he took Kimiko's hand and slipped it on her ring finger as the girl tried to stop herself from smiling, fearing that it will give them away._

" _It seems that we have found our ring-bearer for our wedding, Akumi."_

" _Aa, seems that way," she replied as she slipped Akashi's red candy ring on his finger. "Satsuki will be the maid of honor."_

" _Then Kuroko," Akashi turned to look at the wide-eyed bluenette (Kuroko had been more expressive back then as well like the rest of them), "I hereby appoint you as my best man."_

 _Cue more fan girl squeals from Momoi and Kuroko's "Eh? What—me?"_

 _After which they moved on to assign the others of their_ roles _for their supposed_ wedding.

" _Shintarou can be the priest."_

" _WHAT?" the shooting guard exclaimed, then got flustered when the chartreusette turned her puppy eyes on him. "Fine! Do what you want!"_

" _Nijimura-san will walk you down the aisle."_

" _Oi, that's her father's job!" Nijimura protested, but Kimiko looked perfectly okay with it._

" _I have two arms – you two can escort me at the same time."_

 _Refusing to be forgotten, Aomine asked, "WHAT ABOUT ME?"_

" _Oh, right, what do we do with Daiki?"_

 _Akashi stopped to think about all the weddings he'd gone to, trying to remember what other roles are there to assign to the loudmouth. He bit his lip when he realized that there's only one available role left and that was…_

" _...Flower girl."_

 _Kimiko almost burst out laughing. "Daiki, you will be the flower girl."_

 _A horrified look came on his face. "I'm the what? Flower girl?" he gestured at himself in a flurry of hands. "Do I look like a flower girl to you?"_

" _But that's the only available role," Akashi said. "It would've suited her given her name and hair color, but Momoi is already the maid of honor."_

 _Kimiko though had other ideas. "Unless you want to trade places with Satsuki..?" she grinned. "I wouldn't mind having you in a dress, Daiki."_

" _Mine-chin would look uglier in a dress," Murasakibara said through mouthfuls of_ maiubo.

" _What did you say, you purple giant?"_

" _Mine-chin in a dress is scary."_

" _Hah! Tell that to yourself!"_

 _Murasakibara didn't know just how true his words were when he declared then and there that "I'll be pretty when I wear a dress." A year later and this will be proven when he wears that Victorian dress during Teikou's school festival._

 _Aomine, of course, refused to back down. He pointed at the unknowing Kuroko. "Make Tetsu the flower girl, then! He looks pretty enough."_

" _Aomine-kun, you didn't just say that," the phantom deadpanned. Sure, he has the most effeminate features next to Akashi in their group, but to be actually called pretty when you're a boy is not a good thing._

 _(-_ unless you're Kise, but he's not part of them yet.)

" _The best man is supposed to be the groom's bestfriend, you idiot," Nijimura said, hitting the loud forward upside the head._

" _And I won't let you replace Tetsu-kun as best man!" Momoi said in defense of her crush._

" _Hah? But Satsuki—wait, bestfriend? Oi, Akashi, Tetsu is my bestfriend, not yours!"_

 _Before Akashi could open his mouth, though, Kuroko asked innocently, "I am Aomine-kun's bestfriend?"_

 _Everyone laughed as Aomine stared at his shadow disbelievingly._

" _What-" he saw Kuroko hid a grin behind his hand "Tetsu, you traitor!"_

 _Aomine went to Kuroko, who ran and hid behind Murasakibara, who did his best to shield the 'pretty phantom' from the 'ugly burnt alien', which only served to infuriate Aomine even more. And then Momoi joined in, hitting her childhood friend, telling him to stop chasing her Tetsu-kun, and then Nijimura sighed and waded in and stopped them from getting too loud (by being loud himself). Midorima face-palmed, not sure what to do in the company of such... idiots._

 _Off to the side, Kimiko whispered to Akashi. "I think we overdid it this time."_

" _Akumi, since when did we not overdo things? It's their fault for taking things seriously."_

" _Well, they were pretty enthusiastic about the wedding, though."_

 _Another voice joined in their conversation. "I knew it."_

 _Kimiko and Akashi turned as one to the speaker. Light glinted over his glasses in a menacing manner._

 _Akashi chuckled under his breath, closing his eyes as he did so. When he opened them again, he looked at the irritated Midorima and said, "You got us."_

" _You two are very troublesome in every way possible," Midorima grumbled._

 _Kimiko was snickering as she poked him in the cheek. "Ahahaha, Shintarou~ You're just annoyed that you fell for it~"_

" _'Fell for it?'" Nijimura's growl was heard behind them. "You mean…?"_

" _Now, now, Shuuzo-senpai, don't be so disappointed. I swear I'll invite you to my wedding – the real one – in the future."_

 _Nijimura flicked her forehead. "You brat. Continue being like that and see if I even show up."_

" _Aww, but you'll invite me to your wedding with Suzu-senpai, right?"_

 _Kimiko hid behind Midorima as Nijimura yelled, "For the last time, I'm not involved in any way with Suzu-chan!"_

 _Akashi found himself looking at his captain with narrowed eyes. "Suzu... chan?"_

 _Nijimura gulped. Akashi, Kimiko, and Midorima grinned. However, he was saved from the Spanish Inquisition by their four other teammates._

" _Tsk. And here we thought that it was real," Aomine grumbled. After a belated realization that they were being a nuisance in front of the store, they had relocated to the park, and on their way, Midorima had told them about Akashi and Kimiko's prank on them._

" _Kumi-chin, that's mean~" Murasakibara pouted. After he gave them those rings (which they're still wearing, by the way)…_

" _There, there, Atsushi," Kimiko said. He was perched on a lower rung, and so she reached down to pat his head._

" _But Kumi-chan, you'll still invite us to your real wedding, right?" Momoi asked._

 _To Kimiko, that day seemed so far away that she wasn't concerned with it in any way. So she just laughed and nodded, "Yeah, sure."_

 _Midorima, wanting to get back at the two for tricking him, asked, "Will Akashi still be your groom by then?"He avoided Akashi's hard stare at him as he waited for Kimiko's answer, but was interrupted by Aomine who unknowingly (or knowingly) added fuel to the fire by asking,_

" _Is Akashi even your type?"_

 _As they looked at her for her answer, Nijimura nudged Akashi and whispered loudly, "Listen carefully."_

 _Akashi was feeling too unsettled to speak. He opted to glaring at his friends instead._

 _Kimiko fidgeted in her seat. "Do I really have to answer that?"_

 _Momoi, realizing what Kimiko was trying to do, shook her head. "Nuh-uh, Kumi-chan, you're not charming your way out of the question. Yes or no. If no, you'll have to tell us what is your type, okay?"_

" _I'll answer on one condition."_

 _Momoi considered it for a moment. "What condition?"_

 _A smug grin was Kimiko's reply. "You have to agree first."_

" _Fine. What's the condition?"_

" _That you'll answer the same question. All of you."_

 _The pinkette sighed in relief. She was expecting something crazy, but this—simple. Of course, her answer is already obvious…_ But _, she looked at the others,_ it would be fun to know what they are looking for in a girl.

 _Kimiko settled back more comfortably on her perch on the topmost rung of the monkey bars. Since Nijimura was sitting next to him, Akashi refrained from reaching out to help steady her._

" _So, the type of guy I like..." she muttered, looking at the darkening skies. She hadn't thought of romance at all. "Someone like Seijuurou, in terms of personality, probably?"_

" _Isn't that the same as saying that the guy you like is Akashi-kun?" Kuroko asked._

 _Nijimura guffawed as he elbowed Akashi mercilessly. Aomine slung an arm around Kuroko's shoulder and cheered, "Nice one, Tetsu!" After all, it's not like they can bully the two every day. Chances like this are rare – especially since even Nijimura was here._

 _In retaliation, Kimiko pulled a hair tie from her pocket and aimed it at Nijimura's face. It hit his nose with a satisfying flick and would've fallen off had Akashi not caught him by the arm._

" _There. I answered your question. Time to fulfill your side of the deal." She looked at Momoi. "Satsuki?"_

" _Ano, I like...I like..." Momoi was blushing, unable to form a coherent sentence as she got lost in her fantasy with her beloved Tetsu-kun._

 _Kimiko laughed. "Well, not like we didn't know your answer already. That said, I don't think I want to hear Daiki's answer."_

" _That's unfair, Akumi. First you turn me into a flower girl, now this?"_

" _We all know what your answer is going to be, nanodayo."_

" _Really? Say it then!"_

" _Some things are better left unsaid." Midorima refused to let himself say those words. He won't stoop to Aomine's level._

" _See? You don't know what I want!"_

 _Another rubber hair tie went flying. "Shut up, Daiki. No one likes to hear about your obsession with gravure idols and their big breasts."_

" _How dare you criticize Mai-chan and her—Hmp!"_

 _Murasakibara decided to sacrifice his_ maiubo _just to shut the idiot ganguro. "Mine-chin, shut up and eat."_

" _Thank you, Murasakibara-kun."_

" _Kuroko, you're next."_

 _Like her, Kuroko didn't thought much about this certain matter, so he answered with hesitation. "A gentle person, I think?"_

" _How about you, Shintarou?"_

" _Hm. Someone who is mature in ways of thinking. I don't have time for childishness." He punctuated this by adjusting his glasses upwards._

" _Geez, you're one strict person, Midorima," Nijimura commented, and since he spoke, Kimiko asked him next._

" _Ah, someone who's good at cooking," he said with a grin._

" _Oh? That was something I thought that Murasakibara would say," Akashi said. He looked down to where Murasakibara was. "Murasakibara, how about you?"_

 _Murasakibara raised his head lazily to meet Akashi's eyes. "I want someone who's tall, but not taller than me..."_

" _Actually, I was expecting Nijimura to say something along the lines of 'someone that's beautiful'-"_

" _Oi, are you implying that I am a_ menkui _?" Nijimura said in indignation but as usual, Kimiko carried on like she never heard a thing._

" _-and for Atsushi to say that he wants someone who knows how to cook so that he can eat to his heart's content, but... guess I was wrong. Then, how about you, Seijuurou?"_

" _A girl with dignity," was his vague answer. Beside him, Nijimura was screaming in his mind._

Ba-ka! You should have just said that you like someone like her as well!

 _But Kimiko only stretched her arms in front of her and said, "Well, that's quite expected from someone like you."_

" _Someone like Akumi-san?"_

 _Kimiko slightly flinched at Kuroko's question but was quick to hide it behind a frown._

" _Ne, Tetsuya, are you doing this on purpose?" Kimiko grinned wickedly at the bluenette, who was feeling a bit scared at having been found out. He just hoped that it was only double training for punishment as he was yet to accustom his body to the upgraded training regimen._

" _Aa," Akashi answered, to which Kimiko suddenly felt her cheeks grew warm._

" _Kyaa! Kumi-chan is blushing!" Momoi pointed out, already recovered from her stuttering earlier._

" _I'm not!" Kimiko denied hotly, but it was too late as everyone noticed her red face. Holding her bag, she jumped off her perch, ignoring Akashi's shout of concern and waved her hands at the laughing group on the monkey bars."That's it, I'm going home! Bye!"_

 _Akashi followed suit, landing gracefully as he chased after the chartreusette, who only ran faster when she looked back and saw him running after her._

" _Quit following me!" They heard her shout as she reached the exit._

" _Have you forgotten that we live in the same area?" Akashi calmly replied, although his face was a picture of amusement. As the two continued their banter, the six who remained inside the park was still laughing at the pair's interaction._

" _Really, those two," Nijimura said, shaking his head. Tonight had been a very eventful and fun one. He didn't expect to get close with these brats but once he got to know them, they were actually enjoyable to be with. Even when those two seemed to particularly like to tease him when they were outside of school._

" _Come on, it's getting late," he said to his adorable_ kouhais. _"It's time to head home."_

" _Hai, Nijimura-senpai!"_

 _Above them, the first star of the evening twinkled brightly to lead them on their way._

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— **木** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **12** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Wakayama, Japan ****

 **和歌山** **、** **日本**

Murasakibara stared at the candy rings in his hand, which prompted the recollection of that particular memory. He'd always thought of the chartreusette as a constant beside the redhead, and now, it seems that he really is going to be the ring-bearer if they are going to keep this up.

" _So Aka-chin is now your fiancé?"_

" _What- NO!" Kimiko yelled, thoroughly flustered by now. How come he knows that word, anyway?_

" _But Kumi-chin said that you are in a relationship with Aka-chin..." Murasakibara said with a slight pout._

" _R-right, I did say that-"_

" _Then that means that you are now engaged to Aka-chin?"_

" _Atsushi, no!" Kimiko took a deep breath and counted to three before answering the confused giant beside her. "We're not engaged or going to get married, geez... We're just in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship."_

" _I know that already, Kumi-chin," he said, not really surprised. Weren't they in that kind of relationship ever since the beginning? Why was she telling this to him?_

 _He was even more puzzled when Kimiko looked at him in surprise. "Oh? Did Seijuurou told you?"_

" _Eh?"_

" _Did Seijuurou told you about..."_

" _Did Kumi-chin forgot?"_

" _Hm, forgot what?"_

" _Aka-chin had always been your boyfriend, right?"_

 _The girl froze, and blushed harder. "Atsushi!"_

"Funny Kumi-chin," Murasakibara chuckled, his hand rubbing his side where the girl had elbowed him mercilessly. For someone so small, she sure hits hard. He wondered how Aomine, Kise, and Haizaki had survived her torture - those three had been her favorite punching bags back in Teikou.

 _I missed those days..._

He opened the door to his shared room with the mirage shooter. Since yesterday's game, they'd been ignoring each other, which could be part of the reason why they lost to Seirin by a measly one point.

One. Point.

Coach Masako had been thoroughly disappointed and angry as well. After Himuro's disappearing act which put the whole team in a frenzy, Yosen's double ace had returned separately and were in some sort of a cold war since then. The mirage shooter did apologize for his unwarranted behavior, however, he wouldn't speak a word on what had happened. Murasakibara, on the other hand, had been shooting annoyed glares at his partners every now and then but wouldn't clarify on why he was doing it either.

Masako promptly smacked the two of them with her trusty paper fan and left them to deal with the huge bumps on their heads.

Murasakibara sighed. He's not really looking forward to staying in the same room with the mirage shooter. Then again, it's not like he can just request one of his teammates to switch rooms with him. Unlike the others, Himuro does not snore or talk in his sleep and he keeps his things organized and all which makes him the ideal roommate.

Well, that is, until he yelled at the chartreusette.

He found Himuro lying spread-eagle on his bed, staring mindlessly at the ceiling. He flinched slightly at Murasakibara's entrance but he did not dare to look at the purple-haired center.

Murasakibara frowned.

"Muro-chin," he called out, and he almost found it funny when the normally cool sophomore twitched at the sound of his name, "How long are you going to stay in that position?" After dinner, Himuro had gone straight to their room and flopped on his bed like a starfish.

That was two hours ago.

Murasakibara sat on the edge of his bed and stared at Himuro. "Are you still sad that we lost to Seirin?"

"It's not about that," Himuro muttered, and Murasakibara was surprised and relieved when he actually answered his question.

"What are you doing anyway?"

"...Thinking."

"About?"

"Things," Himuro replied through gritted teeth.

"Hm? What kind of things?"

"The important kind," Himuro replied.

Murasakibara cannot help but snort. Himuro was being elusive and vague on purpose. "And that would be?"

Himuro sat up and glared at the giant who was nonchalantly munching on potato chips that he seemed to pull out from nowhere.

"Just say it, Atsushi."

It was one of those rare times that Murasakibara was being serious, a far cry from his usual childish and laid-back demeanor. Potato chips forgotten, he looked straight in Himuro's gray eyes and asked, "Why are you mad at her, Muro-chin?"

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 _While Himuro changed his clothes in the comfort room of the cafe, Kagami had gone and ordered the two of them a cup of coffee. Once the raven-head was seated, Kagami gestured at the cup in front of him and patiently waited for Himuro to open up._

" _I didn't mean to lash out at her," Himuro finally said quietly after his second sip. Kimiko's bright red scarf was still wrapped around his neck and Kagami didn't say anything when Himuro lowered his chin further into its warmth._

" _What happened back there, Tatsuya?" Kagami asked. "You're not pissed at her for winning the game, are you?"_

" _Of course not," Himuro replied defensively. He toyed with his cup for a while before letting out a groan as he dropped his face to the table. "Gods, I'm such a jerk..." he moaned as he pulled at his hair in frustration._

" _You're still not telling me the reason behind your actions earlier," Kagami deadpanned, cringing mentally at the pathetic display of his brother and friend before him._

 _Himuro leveled him with a glare before planting his face back to the table. "Atsushi is going to kill me when I get back... I probably deserve it though..."_

 _Seirin's ace scratched his cheek. "I don't think it's only your teammate that you have to worry about..." he said, thinking of the rest of the Kiseki no Sedai present in the tournament._

" _I doubt there would be anything left after Atsushi is done with me," Himuro retorted._

" _Why did you do it though?" Kagami tried again. "You said that she didn't do anything to you, so why did you got mad at her?"_

 _Himuro was silent for a while. He was busy thinking how he can explain it to Kagami without sounding like a total loser. It was unfair of him to do that to Kimiko when she had been nothing but a very good friend to him ever since the day they met on that streetball court. After thinking it over, Himuro came to the conclusion that the best that he can do it to be direct and honest about it to Kagami. Nothing will come out of it he lied about it – it will just make him feel even more horrible._

" _I lo- I like Kimiko," he finally blurted out, and Kagami was even more confused._

" _...Okay?" the red-head had a skeptical look on his face."...I don't see how that relates to anything."_

 _Himuro let out a sigh. "I was jealous with her relationship to Akashi, okay? Especially during the game. They just seem to be in perfect harmony and when I lost to Akashi, I realized that I don't have a chance with her. And it hurts... I felt stupid – I was a fool for thinking that she might like me too. I should have- Atsushi warned me but I didn't listen... How stupid..." He laughed, a hollow, empty laugh. "I was angry at myself. Then here comes Akumi, all worried and concerned about me, and I don't know what to do with her. I thought pushing her away would help me forget what I feel for her but I didn't think of how it would affect her. I just- I'm an idiot."_

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Himuro sighed tiredly. "I didn't mean to..."

"But you did," Murasakibara pointed out. "Why?"

Himuro did not answer immediately. Murasakibara watched as a plethora of emotions warred in his partner's lone gray eye. Truth be told, Murasakibara wanted nothing more than to punch his pretty face but something was holding him back, and no, it's not just Kimiko's warning (yes, _warning_ ) that was stopping him from doing so. In the time that he had come to know the older boy, Murasakibara liked the fact that Himuro had taken him seriously the first time they met. He was never condescending nor does he treated Murasakibara differently just because he was one of the famed _Kiseki_.

Plus Himuro always bring him snacks. And that was a big plus in Murasakibara's book.

In his time in Yosen, Himuro had always reminded him of Kimiko. Both were deceptively pretty and ruthless manipulators, whose smiles were never to be trusted, just as their hands were not as delicate as they seem to be. It was why Murasakibara find it easy to accept Himuro as his partner, not just because of his basketball skills but also because of his personality. Not that he was using him as a replacement for the chartreusette, though.

No one can replace Kumi-chin.

When his surprise at discovering Himuro's relationship with Kimiko had gone, he was thankful for the boy for helping Kimiko and for being a big factor in their reconciliation. Murasakibara was even pleased that Himuro and Kimiko were getting along well – he had originally wanted to be the one to introduce them to the other, but Himuro had gotten to Kimiko first. Still, it pleased him that Kimiko approved of Himuro, because for some reason, Murasakibara wanted her opinion on the mirage shooter, and vice versa. When Himuro was visibly awed by the girl's appearance and skill, Murasakibara felt proud of Kimiko.

And then _this_ happens.

He sighed, startling Himuro a bit. "I don't want to hurt Kumi-chin," he began, sounding oddly mature for once, "and I don't want to hurt Muro-chin, too. If you feel like talking to Kumi-chin, let me know so I can tell her. That way, Aka-chin won't get angry at you."

Himuro had offered his help when Murasakibara wanted to apologize to Kimiko before, so it's only right that he offer his to Himuro this time. He can see the gratefulness in the older boy's eyes, however, the last part of his statement caught the raven's attention.

"Why would Akashi be involved in this?"

"If Aka-chin already knows what happened, he'll not allow you to approach or talk to Kumi-chin. Angry Aka-chin is scary, and I don't Muro-chin to get killed by Aka-chin."

Himuro opened his mouth, then closed it, not really knowing how to react. "I...uh, thanks, Atsushi." _Will I really get killed? Atsushi seems... worried._

"It's alright, Muro-chin," Murasakibara said, waving off his gratitude. "Just don't hurt Kumi-chin again, Muro-chin." He stood up to leave the room, leaving Himuro once again to do his thinking, his last statement hanging in the air like a silent threat.

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— **金** **曜** **日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **13** **日** **)** **—**

 **** Wakayama, Japan ****

 **和歌山** **、** **日本**

 _The most awaited day of the Nationals Tournament has arrived._

 _Out of the 47 teams – the best in their respective prefectures – only four remained after an arduous week-long battle._

 _Kaijou, Kanagawa's "Blue Elites", headed by a national-level point guard Kasamatsu Yukio, with their ace, Kiseki no Sedai's Copycat, Kise Ryouta._

 _Yosen, Akita's "Shield of Aegis" with their unrivaled defense and double-ace combination of mirage shooter Himuro Tatsuya and the Kiseki no Sedai's center, Murasakibara Atsushi._

 _Seirin, Tokyo's miraculous new star, once the underdog but now considered as a threat in their own right, with their ace rookie Kagami Taiga and the phantom sixth man, Kuroko Tetsuya._

 _Rakuzan, Kyoto's "Emperor of Creation", with three of the Uncrowned Generals and their very own phantom Mayuzumi Chihiro, led by no other than the Red Emperor himself, Akashi Seijuurou._

 _Kaijou and Yosen will be fighting for 3rd place._

 _As for Seirin and Rakuzan, they will be facing each other once again to battle for the trophy once more._

 _The question: Who will prevail?_

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Breakfast with the Kaijou team was quiet, the atmosphere around them gloomy and oppressive.

They had been this way since yesterday, after being defeated by Rakuzan. It wasn't that they didn't give it their all; quite the contrary, in fact. However, Rakuzan proved themselves worthy of the title "Emperor of Creation", and had promptly subdued them, like servants brought to heel by their masters.

Kise was the most affected. Since last night, he'd been so quiet that it unnerved his team completely, as they were used to his usual peppiness. He didn't cry, didn't complain, just went about like a zombie, his eyes resembling that of a dead fish.

 _Those eyes can read every movement beforehand. All techniques are useless, and no defense is permitted to stand before him._

 _Those eyes that can see the future._

 _Kuso!_ Kise hand closed into fists under the table. Against Akashi, he was unable to do anything. However, he noticed that the redhead never used his signature ankle-break on him. He did it to everyone – to Kasamatsu, to Moriyama, to Kobori, to Hayakawa – but never to him. Nor did he allow Kise to make any move that will strain his foot unnecessarily.

 _Could it be-?_ So Akashi did hold back on him. It should have irritated him, but he realized that it was for his own good. Okay, sure, he was annoyed, not at Akashi or Kimiko ( _or both, whoever idea it was_ ), but to himself, and by extension, to his ex-teammate, Haizaki. If not for his injury, could he have done anything? Could he have defeated Akashi?

Kise sighed. As much as it hurts to accept the truth, Rakuzan is a strong team, much stronger than Kaijou. That's a fact. However, looking at his teammates, he knows that this wouldn't do. They have a game later this afternoon – how could they do that if they're being like this?

"Argh, this won't do!" he declared, slamming his fist into the table with a loud sound. "We have to do something about this!"

Kasamatsu looked at him with tired eyes. If he had been his usual self, a slap or a kick should have been sent to Kise's direction. "Oi, _baka_ , what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"But Captain! We have a game this afternoon and everyone's all mopey and stuff!"

Moriyama slumped in his seat. "Kise, have you forgotten what happened yesterday?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then why the hell are you spouting all this nonsense?"

"Nonsense?" Kise's voice dropped into a low murmur. " _Nonsense? I am talking nonsense?_ "

Moriyama stood up and glared at Kise. "You dare speak to your _senpai_ like that?!"

Undeterred, Kise returned the glare two-fold. "You're not my _senpai,_ " the blonde sneered, ignoring the outraged looks of everyone in their table. "The only _senpais_ I know are those who never gave up, who still stood with their heads high after being defeated, who keeps on rising up after falling down, no matter how many times it happens. Those people, they are my _senpais_. You, I don't know you." He looked them each in the eye, lingering on Kasamatsu's gray ones longer than he did the others. "Who the hell are you?"

He didn't flinch when Kasamatsu rose and grabbed him by the collar. It was like when Haizaki did the same to Akashi – Kise's face was cool and composed, almost bored as he stared at his captain's raging eyes. " _Teme.._!"

"Kasamatsu, oi, Kasamatsu! Calm yourself down!" Kobori hissed. "People are looking!"

Sure enough, the few other people inside the restaurant were staring at them. Grudgingly, Kasamatsu released Kise, who clicked his tongue in annoyance before storming back to the conference room that they'll be using for the meeting later that day. Thankfully, it was empty – their coach was nowhere to be seen. He took a seat and dropped his head into his folded his arms on top of the table. _Where is he? He's supposed to be the one fixing the team! Not me! I'm not good at this!_

He stayed that way until he heard the rush of footsteps, and heard the door slam open. Knowing that his teammates followed him here annoyed and relieved him at the same time. It was confusing. However, before any of them can yell at him, he beat them to it.

"I was there, too, you know," he said, not raising his face from where it was hidden in his arms. His words were a bit muffled, but not enough to make them unintelligible. "I was there – I went up against my former captain and never managed to do a thing against his Emperor Eye. I failed as an ace… Again. Do you know how horrible it felt to know that I've failed the team again?"

"Kise..."

"Even though I am one of the _Kiseki_ , I was always considered to be the weakest out of them all. And that hurts, you know? And it doesn't help that I have lost to every single one of the _Kiseki_ that we have faced so far… I was...powerless against them… And it's true."

"Oi, Kise, you're not-" Kasamatsu began but Kise cut him off, finally getting to his feet and facing them. To their surprise, he bowed low to them, arms hanging straight at his sides as he bent forward, his upper body almost parallel to the floor.

"I'm sorry."

He heard someone approached him, and soon, a pair of familiar shoes came into view.

"Raise your head, _baka."_ Kasamatsu kicked his feet lightly with his own, nudging him with the tip of his shoe. "If someone has to apologize, that should be us, not you."

The shoes vanished as Kasamatsu stepped back and mirrored Kise's position. Behind him, the rest of the regulars followed suit.

"You are strong, Kise, know that. It is us who are weak."

Kise, upon realizing what was happening, panicked. This was not what he wanted to happen! "A-ah, _se_ - _senpais_! No, no, no, no… Stop doing that! It's not right! Not right at all! Waaah!" he cried, then proceeded to run around the room like a chicken with its head cut off.

With all the ruckus that Kise was doing, no one heard the door opening until the newcomer asked out loud, "What is going on here?"

 _Yes, reinforcements has arrived!_ The blonde cheered as he ran to their bewildered coach, who was looking strangely at the regulars who were still in a bowing position even after Kise had freaked out on them.

"Coach, make them stop! Tell them to stop!" Kise cried, hiding behind Genta's bulky frame and pointing at his teammates. "I was just trying to stop them from moping! Not this! Coach, you have to do something!"

Genta's ear was ringing what with Kise whining into it directly. Raising his hand, he tapped the clipboard he was holding to Kise's forehead. Ignoring the blonde's cry of pain, he proceeded to do the same with the rest of the team, hitting them on the back of the head, the pain making them to straighten up. Soon the whole team was now standing upright, though all of them were now sporting bumps on their heads.

He turned to look at Kise. "There."

Kise laughed. "Thank you, Coach!"

Off to the side, Kasamatsu growled at their ace. Genta had hit them quite hard. "Kise, you'll pay for this..."

Kise's eyes widened in fear. "EH? Why me?! I didn't-"

"Are you suggesting that Kasamatsu should make me pay instead, Kise?" Genta asked.

"Ha? What—Coach, I didn't say anything like that!" Then to Kasamatsu, he cried out. "It's not my fault!"

"You were the one who told Coach to stop us!"

"Eh?! But I didn't tell him to hit you on the head! Besides," he pointed at his reddening forehead, "he hit me first! And on my forehead, of all places! I might end up bruised!"

A nerve appeared on Kasamatsu's forehead as he stalked towards the blonde, who backed away as he approached. "You vain bastard...!"

Just as he was about to reach him, Kise bolted. "Kasamatsu-senpai, nooooo!"

Kasamatsu gave chase, then as he passed his other teammates who were standing there watching them, he growled and pointed at them, then at Kise, who was running for the door. "Idiots, what are you standing there for? Get him!"

Outside in the hallways, Kise screamed in terror as more footsteps thundered after him. "NOT FAIR! THAT'S CHEATING, I TELL YOU! CHEATING!"

"HAH? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Kasamatsu yelled back, hot on the blonde's heels.

"SENPAIIII!"

"GET BACK HERE, YOU IDIOT!"

"DON'T WANNA!"

"YOU DARE DEFY ME?! I SAID COME BACK HERE!"

Alone in the conference room, Genta smiled and breathed in relief. "They're going to be fine," he said to himself when he can no longer hear their voices. Let the hotel staff deal with them. He'll deal with the hotel staff afterwards. For now, he'll let those rascals run loose out there.

Then maybe they'll no longer have to do some warm-ups later.

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Despite winning against Yosen and securing their spot in the championships, there was no cause for celebration for the Seirin team.

Not when they'll be facing Rakuzan next.

Not only that – now that they've lost Kiyoshi, Rakuzan had gone and acquired another formidable piece to add to their collection.

Even Kuroko was afraid.

His face looks pained as he explained to his teammates. "Akumi-san...she's a good person but...when on the court, she becomes someone else..." At the incredulous looks on their faces, he shook his head. "No, this is not like Akashi-kun's case. Akumi-san... it's her personality. She's that one friend that you'd really want to have, but not as an enemy… She can be merciless and sadistic if the situation calls for it. She might not look like it but Akumi-san is scarier than Akashi-kun when he changed."

"What do you mean by that, Kuroko?" Koganei asked with a doubtful look. Surely that girl, with her bright personality that only comes second to Kise _(probably)_ can be _evil._

It's not that Kuroko wants to tarnish Kimiko's reputation, but unless he explained things to them, they wouldn't understand. _Why does everyone from Teikou has to be this complicated?_

"You see, the _Kiseki no Sedai_ did not start having all those monstrous abilities when they joined Teikou's basketball club. They are good, yes, but not that good that just hearing their name would send their opponents to despair. Back then, they were just a group of prodigious kids who loved playing basketball. Akashi-kun was not yet burdened with the captaincy since Nijimura-san was still around, Aomine was still a cheerful person," here he smiled when he remembered the jolly Aomine who had practiced with him at the third-string gym, "Midorima-kun was not that apathetic… You get the idea. They—we—only improved that much when Akumi-san took over our training despite Coach Sanada's protests. Her training was brutal, but she made individual training menus for each member of the first string in accordance to what they can do. Unlike her, Coach Sanada just makes one and then expects everyone to follow it, only for them to get injured or over fatigued."

Riko was awed. "One for each member? How many are you in the first-string?"

"Less then twenty," he replied. "There used to be more, but they either quit or was demoted to second-string because they were too lazy to comply with Akumi-san's orders. Even when Akumi-san showed them that the training menu she drafted for each of them was not impossible to do."

"Showed?"

Kuroko actually smirked a little at Kagami's question. " _Hai_. Akumi-san actually went down and performed it in front of those who were complaining. Some were humbled and stayed and eventually got better, while those with too much pride left the club."

He looked at his hands. "Ah, but we're getting off topic. Like I said earlier, there is more to Akumi-san than meets the eye. Back in middle school, before the Awakening of the _Kiseki no Sedai_ , Teikou was already infamous for their destructive plays. Akumi-san was once known as the _Tamamo-no-mae,_ the game master of Teikou's basketball team."

 _(A title that was gradually forgotten as the Kiseki no Sedai became more famous, although it retained its infamy in Teikou's basketball club just as much as the legend of the phantom sixth man was still whispered inside the four walls of the gym.)_

Kagami, unfamiliar with Japanese folklore, had to ask what the hell her title means, earning a karate chop to the head courtesy of Hyuga.

"Bakagami," Riko sighed. "The _Tamamo-no-mae_ is a wicked nine-tailed fox that appeared in the form of a beautiful courtesan. According to legend, she was a nomadic spirit, moving from one area to another and bewitches the leaders of that particular region, making them commit atrocious acts of violence and murder."

"Aa, but..." Kagami's brows furrowed, "How does that fit Kimiko?"

"Akumi-san was the main play maker of Teikou back in first year. Back then, Nijimura-san was captain, and he gave her free rein, although sometimes Akashi-kun tells her when he thinks that her strategies are a bit of an overkill."

"Eh? Akashi did that?"

"Please remember that Akashi-kun haven't switched personalities yet," Kuroko reminded them. "Before the Awakening, it was Akumi-san who destroys the opponents with her devious strategies. Because of her personality and appearance, people tend to underestimate her. Aomine-kun told me that in the first few practice games they had with Akumi-san accompanying them, she was always mistaken as a mere manager. It was when her position as assistant coach to Coach Sanada was revealed that she was given that nickname. She had broken entire teams and made players quit basketball just like the _Kiseki no Sedai_ did after they bloomed."

What went unsaid was that she was the reason why there were so few in their generation who were skilled enough to face Teikou – all those who had shown potential made perfect targets to the golden-eyed girl.

The weight of the phantom's words were fully realized when they watched the Rakuzan-Kaijou match. The Kanagawa team is a strong one, having reached this point in the tournament; however, in this particular game, it seemed like Rakuzan was merely toying with them. If it was only Akashi who was behind the game plan, he would have employed something similar to how they had handled Shutoku. After all, Akashi plays basketball just like shogi – he'd start by scouting and measuring his opponents' skills, laying his traps along the way until either their opponents spring the trap on themselves or he deems it to be the right time to do so. Kimiko is more direct, chipping away their opponents' defense with an onslaught of attacks. This was Teikou's game style before the arrival of the phantom sixth man – a brutal and overwhelming run-and-gun without sacrificing their defense.

Seeing the chartreusette's machinations in play sent shivers down their spine, just like when Akashi shut down Kagami's Meteor Jam without exerting much effort. Kaijou is strong as a team, and that was where Kimiko had struck them. She had Akashi put Kise in check, while she had the rest of Rakuzan isolate Kise's teammates and challenging them on a one-on-one match, knowing that the Uncrowned Generals are capable enough. Without Kise, Kaijou's firepower is greatly reduced, and thus spelled their easy defeat in the hands of the Kyoto tyrants.

Long after the video had ended, the Seirin team remained in their seats, staring at the television screen blankly, sharing the same thoughts.

 _How the hell are they supposed to deal with that?_

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Kimiko had turned off his alarm.

It was the only explanation why Akashi had woken up past eight in the morning, fully rested and refreshed from the exhausting gala last night.

Getting out of bed, he did his morning rituals, then checked his emails on his laptop, forwarding and replying as he saw fit, all the while wondering where Kimiko was.

 _ **[To: Kimiko Akumi}**_

 _ **08:55AM : Where are you?**_

As he worked, he kept glancing at his phone, as if looking at it will somehow will her to reply faster. Still, he jumped slightly when it vibrated with the incoming message.

 _ **[From: Kimiko Akumi}**_

 _ **09:11AM : Had to meet someone. Be back later. Sorry I can't join you for breakfast. Reo-nee said they will wait for you. You should tell them you're up. I bet Eikichi-senpai is starving right now.**_

 _ **[To: Kimiko Akumi]**_

 _ **09:12AM : Alright. Take care.**_

 _ **[From: Kimiko Akumi]**_

 _ **09:12AM : Hai 3**_

There goes a morning with her. Akashi sighed. Surely he did not expect her to be always on hand, right? Sometimes, there are things that she has to do without him, just like he does, too. However, there's no denying that tiny part of him that was disappointed that she did not wake him up to go with her. Then again, she did it on purpose so that he can get a full eight hours of sleep.

He sighed. Might as well call on Mibuchi and the others. They didn't have to wait for him to wake up but the fact that they did sent a warm feeling in his chest. Still, he didn't like that he was inconveniencing other people for things like this.

When he knocked on Mibuchi and Mayuzumi's shared room, he found the four of them inside playing _Jenga_. Nebuya, upon seeing him, was quick to jump to his feet, sending the tower of blocks crashing down to the floor, much to Mibuchi's annoyance.

"Let's eat!"

"I apologize for making you wait. Akumi had just told me about the arrangement and-"

"Sei-chan, it's alright. It was our decision, so you don't have to apologize." Mibuchi smiled at their younger captain, who behave like he was much, much older than them. They had accepted him wholeheartedly after what had happened in Winter Cup, and found that they actually liked this new Akashi – the original Akashi, with all his quirks and all.

And it was really adorable how Akashi nodded at them like he does not really understand why they were not annoyed at his tardiness and for letting them go hungry for some time.

As they headed to the restaurant, Mayuzumi quietly commented, "You're speaking in _keigo_ to us again."

"I didn't notice," Akashi admitted.

"I wonder where Aku-chan had to go this early in the morning," Mibuchi mumbled. "I wanted to ask her for some advice..."

"Hey, Akashi, she'll be sitting on our bench today, right?" Hayama asked, bouncing on his feet as they walked.

"Yes, she is."

Nebuya crossed his arms behind his head. "Can't believe she knows all those stuff. Just how large her brain capacity is?"

"I wonder about that myself sometimes," Akashi confessed with a smile.

 _But aren't you the same as her?_ his teammates thought.

"What led her to enter the basketball club?" Mayuzumi asked. Although he has no ill thoughts about the girl, something in her story bothered him a little.

"In a way, she's like Murasakibara. She says that she did it because she was good at it, and that because it was an interesting and a worthwhile way to spend the time," Akashi replied, but there is doubt in his words, and just like Mayuzumi, he knows that there is more to it than the girl was willing to let them know.

 _Huh, so not even Akashi knows the whole reason,_ Mayuzumi mused just as they entered the restaurant. _So Kimiko was purposefully withholding information from him. Or am I looking too deeply into the matter? So what if she had that side in her? After all, everyone has two faces, split personality or not. Perhaps she is just like that. A twisted kind of a yandere…?_

"Mayu-chan? How long are you gonna stand there?"

Mibuchi's voice cut into his thoughts. He didn't notice that he had already stopped walking. Hurrying to where his team was planning to sit, he joined them in the table and picked up the menu, trying to focus on the list of food.

Too bad that it was his last year in Rakuzan. He would have loved to try and unravel the secrets surrounding the mysterious ex-coach of Teikou.

That is, if Akashi won't kill him first.

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"I see that he's finally awake."

Kimiko placed her phone on the table and looked at the older man that had spoken to her. "A little while ago. He must have taken a shower first before he sent that message."

Akashi Masaomi smiled thinly. "It seems that you are quite familiar with his habits."

"Quite," she said, returning the smile. She took in the man's features before her.

Smooth, tanned skin, dark auburn hair that looks brown in dim light, sharp blood-red eyes, trim and great physical condition, not heavily built but not lanky either. She compared it to Akashi's; his father's hair and eyes were darker than the heir, who had inherited his mother's brighter coloring as well as facial features. The only thing that he got from his father was the aura of dominance and authority that Kimiko can definitely feel from across the small round table that they were seated at.

"I don't want to be rude, Akashi-san, but I am assuming that this meeting has a point," she said after a considerable length of silence. As much as she doesn't want to admit it, Masaomi's stare is starting to feel unnerving.

She doesn't like that knowing glint in his eyes. It's like he can learn all about you just by looking at you.

 _But what if the Emperor Eye was some kind of an inherited power? Like the ones in anime… A doujutsu like the Sharingan, or a Geass that varies from user to user…?_

How she managed to think of all that crazy stuff while being stared down by one Akashi Masaomi was a wonder in and of itself.

"For someone like you, you are quite an impatient person."

 _Someone like me? What does he mean by that?_ Kimiko refrained from gritting her teeth. "I have things to do later today."

"Very well." Masaomi leaned back in his chair. "I am here to offer you a job."

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	38. 第38章

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 **逃亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **38** **章**

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— **金** **曜日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **13** **日** **) —**

 **** Wakayama, Japan ****

 **和歌山** **、日本**

Barely a sentence into his introduction and Kimiko was already regretting picking up the phone.

It was exactly six in the morning when a shrill ringing woke her up from her blissful slumber. It was almost comical how she scrambled out of bed to silence the infernal device before it could wake the still sleeping redhead on the other bed. Pressing the receiver into her ear, she sank back into her pillow and tried not to growl her greeting.

"Hello?"

A bland voice came through. It almost sounds like a robot. "Good morning. May I speak with Kimiko Akumi?"

She perked up slightly at the mention of her name, though it did not lessen the annoyance she felt at being woken up so early after a very tiring night. "That's me. To whom do I owe the _pleasure_ of this early morning call?"

If he sensed her irritation, the caller simply ignored it as he went on. "Kimiko-san. I apologize for waking you up. I am Shirikawa Haruto, personal assistant of Akashi Masaomi."

 _Akashi Masaomi?!_ Kimiko sputtered mid-yawn and glanced at Akashi and frowned. Now, she's _fully_ awake. "And what does the Akashi head wants from me?" she asked, already dreading the answer.

"Akashi-sama wishes to talk to you. A car will be taking you to the restaurant where Akashi-sama will meet you for breakfast."

 _What a presumptuous prick._ Kimiko wrinkled her nose in annoyance. The bastard was expecting her to do as he tells her to. "And if I refuse?"

There was a pause from Shirikawa as if her question caught him off-guard. Who can say no to Akashi Masaomi? "It would be in your best interest to accept the invitation, Kimiko-san," he advised, sounding like he was talking to an insane person.

 _Now, should I accept or not? Yes? No?_

As Kimiko mulled on what to do, Shirikawa prompted after a few minutes.

"Kimiko-san?"

"Fine. I'll go," Kimiko finally said through gritted teeth. _Impatient bastard,_ she seethed as Shirikawa informed her of the time and location of the meeting.

"Very well. Akashi-sama will be expecting you. Have a good morning, Kimiko-san."

There's no point in shooting the messenger so Kimiko settled for a deep breath before opening her mouth. "You, too, Shirikawa-san."

 _As if. My day's ruined. Ugh._

She hung up then and contemplated throwing the phone and screaming in frustration. Glaring at the ceiling didn't help her in the slightest so she sluggishly got out of bed, then panicked when she saw the time on the bedside clock.

06:27 AM.

 _What._

And the Shirikawa guy told her that breakfast is at seven.

 _Just what._

"If I got there late, then it's his fault," she growled as quietly as she could, walking on tiptoes around the room so as not to wake the redhead. "Like, who the hell arranges breakfast dates at six-thirty and expects them to be there by seven?!"

Kimiko was still fuming even as she crept to Akashi's bedside table to grab his phone and turn off his alarm for six-thirty. Rakuzan did not schedule a morning practice today, which worked perfectly in her favor. Akashi will probably throw a fit if he discovered who she was meeting up with later. Kimiko muttered a short apology to the oblivious redhead and promised to tell him everything once she found out what his old man wants to talk about.

She took the quickest shower in her life and grabbed whatever clothes she had left in her closet. She ended up wearing a gray sweater, black pleated skirt, black tights over which she wore a beige knee-length coat. Her hair she left unbound, not really putting much thought or effort on her appearance. With the way she was casually dressed, one would think that she was just meeting a friend, and not someone important like the head of the biggest business conglomerate in the whole of Japan. She swiped a bit of lip gloss on her lips to prevent her lips from chapping in the cold but other than that and a bit of powder on her cheeks, she did not put on any makeup. Pocketing her phone and her purse, she made her way out of the room stealthily, the clicking of the lock sounding like her impending doom to her ears. It was only when she was safe inside the elevator that Kimiko finally released the breath that she had been holding.

06:48 AM.

Gold eyes watched the red numbers flash by as the elevator descended, and when she finally reached the ground floor. She was about to sigh heavily when a man in a black suit approached her. On the left side of his suit, where a breast pocket was supposed to be, was an embroidered crest of the Akashi Corporation - a dragon encircling a chrysanthemum in a protective embrace.

"Kimiko-sama, _ohayou gozaimasu_ ," the man greeted with a polite yet bland voice, bowing in front of the startled teen.

"Uh- _Ohayou gozaimasu,"_ she said in reflex, returning the bow.

She followed the man as he led her outside to where a gleaming silver Cadillac was parked right outside the entrance. It was all she could do not to hurry to get inside the car as she felt several stares focused on her person. _Can he not send something more inconspicuous?_ she grumbled to herself once the car started to move. Despite herself, the smell of leather and something woody was somewhat pleasant to the senses. She quelled the urge to ask the driver where they were headed, and contented herself with watching the early morning traffic on Wakayama's streets.

After a ten-minute drive, Kimiko found herself being escorted inside a grand building by yet another man in a black suit emblazoned with the Akashi crest. Her mind raced as she realized where they were likely headed, further confirmed when her escort led her to the gilded elevator and pressed the button for the eighteenth floor.

It wasn't surprising when, upon reaching the top, she was immediately received by the seating host with a respectful greeting before showing her to where Akashi Masaomi had been waiting for her. She passed by men in designer business suits and women in luxury clothing, not to mention the jewelries hanging on their person, and for a moment, she almost regretted not putting more effort on her own outfit.

 _Almost._

She suppressed a frown when a young woman gave her a disapproving look.

 _Tch._

However, disapproval turned to disbelief when said young woman realized where the host was leading Kimiko. Reaching the doors off to the left side of the hall, the host motioned for her to stop to the side so that he can pull it open, revealing a balcony enclosed in glass hundreds of feet above the ground. The city of Wakayama sprawled before them in all its winter beauty. Kimiko would have stared a bit longer if not for the deep voice that broke through the morning stillness.

"The view is most wonderful from up here, don't you think so?"

Kimiko blinked and turned to the direction of the voice. Eyes darker than Seijuurou's vivid crimson met hers, and they gleamed with something Kimiko cannot discern. The smile that graced the man's lips were like a knife's blade - cold and sharp.

"Kimiko Akumi, isn't it?" Golden eyes narrowed imperceptibly at the offered hand. "I am Akashi Masaomi. Enchanted to meet you."

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She'd been to the Akashi manor twice but this is the first time that she'd had the opportunity to meet the Akashi head face to face.

Kimiko smiled - as much as she could anyway in her present company - as their host helped her into her seat. "Please take your time and enjoy the view. Your waitress will be with you once you made your order," he said, indicating the electronic menus at the table. He bowed before leaving the two of them alone, Kimiko still with that calm smile on her face while Masaomi wore an impassive one on his.

Little did he know that his gaze was actually starting to unnerve the chartreusette.

Hands tightening to fists in her lap, Kimiko took a shallow breath, willing herself to keep her gaze even and steady. With the same reasoning she had for not feeling intimidated when she first approached the Akashi heir, she had done no wrong against this man so there was no need for her to feel scared or anything... Right?

It's just unfortunate that Akashi Masaomi is on a whole other level compared to his son.

True, Akashi Seijuurou can send even grown men running with just a simple glare of his, but Akashi Masaomi can probably have them begging for mercy by merely looking them in the eye. Her grandfather was scary, but something about Akashi Masaomi unsettles her. And then it hit her. Those eyes, despite being crimson in color, reminds her too much of the Emperor Eye. The cold, ruthless look in them that can see through you and dissect you with ease, betraying nothing of its possessor's thoughts to the point that it was almost inhuman.

She almost flinched when Masaomi reached out to peruse the menu, prompting her to do the same. It only occurred to her that everything was written in French when Masaomi suddenly paused and asked if she has any problems with the menu.

 _The only problem I have is you,_ she thought dryly. Shaking her head, she answered, "I can manage, thanks for asking."

"How fluent are you in the language, if you don't mind me asking?" Masaomi asked after a short pause. She was surprised: was the Akashi head making small talk? No, not small talk, she realized a heartbeat later. Masaomi was not the kind of man to do things without reason.

 _He's digging for information - information that he probably has. How annoying._

A part of her willed the voice in her head to stop giving side comments as they are only distracting her and _damn_ _it_ but she needs to be focused if she wants to get out of this unscathed - or at least with her sanity intact.

"Fluent enough," Kimiko admitted. "I can converse with locals comfortably."

At this, Masaomi's brow rose slightly in interest. "Is that so? How long did you stay in France?"

"A year," she answered, not offering any more details than what was asked.

"And do you have plans of returning?"

Her hand stilled. "I just got back here so I haven't given that much thought."

"I see," and Kimiko somehow sensed that Masaomi meant something more when he said those two words. "Are you ready to order?"

"I am." After confirming their orders, Masaomi drew her into another conversation, this time asking about her presence in Wakayama, eventually touching on the subject they both shared.

"I understand that you came here with my son and his team," Masaomi said, a scrutinizing look in his deep red eyes. "However, you are not a student of Rakuzan."

Kimiko was quick to decipher the unspoken question. "I see no harm in going to watch the tournament as Seijuurou's friend."

At her use of the heir's first name, of which Masaomi was quick to point out, Kimiko countered that Akashi was a dear friend of hers.

"Does he consider you as a dear friend of his as well?"

 _What._

 _Why do I feel insulted with that one?_ And before she can stop herself, Kimiko shot back snippily, "Of course he does. Friendship is supposed to be a two-way relationship. If you doubt my words then you can always ask him about it."

A chuckle escaped Masaomi, surprising Kimiko.

"Maybe I will."

Kimiko gritted her teeth. _Someone kill me. Now._ She was sorely tempted to bite her tongue - anything else to keep her from saying anything that can possibly offend the man before her. She has the feeling that all this would come back to bite her in the ass, but that's just how she is. _Seijuurou did always say that I let my mouth run off with me more often than not. I wonder how he would react if he was watching right now._

Thankfully, she was saved from saying anything back by the arrival of their food carted in by a pretty young waitress. Gourmet meals soon filled their small table that was more suited to a romantic date with lovers than a tense meeting between a girl and her boyfriend's father. Kimiko hastily rid herself of the thought.

 _Focus, you hear me?_

"Shall we eat?" Masaomi gestured to the table.

Kimiko waited for him to start before digging in. The food was delicious but she had to force herself to eat, not really having an appetite. She still has no clue as to why Masaomi had called her here - there are too many possibilities. She failed to see Masaomi's careful observation of her table manners. There is a difference in having table manners compared to one who was raised strictly to follow them, and it was evident to the Akashi head as to which category the girl before her falls into. It was clear in her every movement: how she handles the foreign silverware, the careful way she sips her _cafe au lait,_ the delicate way she chews her croissant, all done mindlessly and not with the concentration in fear of making a mistake.

And despite the simplicity of the dress she wore, one would be blind to see that she walks and talks and breathes like one of the noblesse. She might be toning it down in order to blend with the middle class of which she poses to belong, but all it takes is an elite to see her for what she really is.

Silence prevailed throughout their meal, and for that, Kimiko was grateful. It was not until the dishes were cleared and they were sipping on their respective drinks when the ringing of her phone broke through the tense silence.

"I see that he's finally awake," Masaomi said, eyes still watching her face that was too pretty for someone of ordinary descent. Or so as her file claims.

"A little while ago. He must have taken a shower first before he sent that message."

Akashi Masaomi smiled thinly. "It seems that you are quite familiar with his habits."

"I know him well enough," she said, returning the smile. She met his gaze fearlessly, as if she was used to staring at eyes of cold-hearted men on a daily basis.

"I don't want to be rude, Akashi-san, but I am assuming that this meeting has a point," she said after a considerable length of silence.

And so he decided to test her.

"For someone like you, you are quite an impatient person," he said with a meaningful tone. He watched her like a hawk to see what her reaction would be.

To her credit, she did not stutter when she deadpanned, deliberately ignoring the double meaning of his statement, "I have things to do later today."

"Very well." Masaomi leaned back in his chair. She was good, he can give her that, but he did not miss the telltale signs of her nervousness. "I am here to offer you a job."

 _Not this again,_ Kimiko groaned in her mind as Masaomi stared at her with his usual piercing gaze.

 _Seriously, had I known that one measly photo shoot was going to get me into so much trouble, then I would have just declined it back then._

Pulling her lips in a halfhearted attempt of a polite smile, Kimiko met Masaomi's gaze head on. "If this is about that modeling job I had with Kise Ryouta, then I'm afraid I have to decline. That was a one-time thing. I have no intention of following up on it."

"Is that so?"

"It is so." Kimiko cleared her throat. "So can we move on to the next item on the agenda?"

Masaomi's lips curled in a taunting smirk. "What makes you think that there is another topic on the agenda?"

"Please," Kimiko stated wryly. "Am I to believe that the great Akashi Masaomi conducts talent searches _personally_? Don't you have minions to do the job for you? No, I believe this is more of a _personal_ matter instead of merely business."

 _Heh, I think I have a death wish,_ she mused, realizing just how disrespectful she was being to Akashi's father right now. _Ah, but I'm simply returning the favor, am I not? After all, this pales in comparison to what he's done to me so far…disturbing my sleep and ordering me around…_

"Why would you think that?"

She cannot help the impatient snort that escaped her. "Am I to explain all of your motives?"

Masaomi simply nodded at the infuriated female. "Perhaps, as you seem to know everything already."

Kimiko crossed her arms in front of her and raised her chin at the Akashi patriarch in a clear show of defiance. _If there's anything an Akashi hates, it's disobedience._ "Well, I don't. So if you won't, then I'm going to take my leave. As I've said earlier, I have things to _do_."

Sitting at the table across from the girl, Masaomi has to hand it to the girl. Not even his own son had acted against him so openly. Despite her well-concealed discomfort in his presence, the girl has enough guts to talk back at him instead of crumbling down under the pressure. Somehow, it makes sense why his son was friends with this Kimiko Akumi.

But _still_.

"Very well, does he know of your secret?"

She jolted at that, eyes turning on a guarded look like a cornered animal – exactly what Masaomi is after. He smirked.

"He doesn't? Don't you think it's wise to keep him in the dark? If you know my son as much as you think you do, then you should know how he would react if word of your _true_ identity reaches his ears."

Kimiko sat there, a look of growing horror on her face, and her blood went cold when Masaomi continued.

"The illegitimate daughter of one of France's influential families, the De Saint-Pierre. Exiled to her mother's homeland, hiding behind a borrowed name. Did I miss anything, _Veronique_?"

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Kimiko exited the building laden with the bags that Shirikawa had handed her on her way out. Boots clacking noisily on the sidewalk, she tried her best not to bump into other pedestrians, which was rather hard given how distracted she was at the moment. Mumbling insults and apologies, she made her way to the Vermilion Hotel several blocks away, making quite an excellent progress until she bumped into a cursing wall.

"What the fuck! Can't you look where you're- _Shit._ "

Golden eyes flashed with anger, and she looked ready to kill anyone in the vicinity along with this person who was unlucky enough to get in her way, only to come to a grinding halt when she recognized said person.

Gray hair, narrow eyes.

The two of them stood there with wide eyes as realization set in. Pointing accusing fingers, the two of them exclaimed in incredulity.

"Akumi?!"

"Shougo!"

And then, a snicker. "Your hair's back to normal! What, got tired of the corn rows already?"

Haizaki frowned. "Shut up. How do you even- Oh, never mind. You're like a creepy stalker. Just like that pink-haired freak."

Kimiko had no qualms stomping on his shoes, making him hop on one foot a couple of times due to the pain. "Like someone in their right mind would even try to stalk _you._ "

"Well, that's true, except that you're not what I would consider as _someone in their right mind_."

A glare made Haizaki drawback slightly, though it did not erase the smirk on his face when Kimiko did not offer any verbal comeback.

"So," she said as she dragged Haizaki with her to a nearby quaint coffee shop, as they looked rather idiotic standing right there in the middle of the sidewalk. Wrapping her hands on her warm cup, she stared at the boy's slightly sour face. "Shizuoka's rather far from Wakayama, is it not?"

"And Tokyo isn't?"

She grinned. " _Touché_."

Haizaki slung an arm over the back of his seat and watched the girl across him from the table. He knew about what happened between her and his scary ex-captain, the very same one who did not even flinch even when someone had him by the throat, and frowned. When he was still in the basketball club, he'd seen the girl push Akashi's patience to its limits, but he'd never gotten angry at her. Annoyed? Yes. Irritated? Sometimes. But he'd never expected him to actually choke her to death. It may not be his intention to _actually_ kill her, but still. He never saw Kimiko around after that, and he never asked. Who can he ask about her anyway? Nijimura was gone, and he'd rather not approach his old teammates. They did tend to get huffy when someone asks about the whereabouts of their golden-eyed coach. Then a year passed, and she suddenly appears in one of those magazines with one Kise Ryouta, and now here she is, sitting in front of him in the flesh, talking and drinking coffee with him like it was something that she normally does.

Then again, nothing seems to faze this girl anyway, just like that red-haired brat who had forcefully evicted him from the club the moment he found another promising recruit. As simple as a chess player discarding a useless piece from the board, and just as cold.

A sip of his own caffeine-loaded drink stopped his thoughts from taking a darker turn.

"Here to watch the Finals?" she asked after some length of silence.

"Yeah."

"Cutting classes again, huh," Kimiko said with a dry smile.

" _Why do you care?_ " Haizaki almost said, but he managed to catch himself and shrugged. "I have a cold," he said.

Kimiko rolled her eyes at the familiar excuse. "Right. You and your runny nose."

"How about you? Aren't you cutting classes as well?" he asked.

"Don't lump me in with yourself," she answered with a snort.

When she didn't offer any more information, Haizaki let it go.

"So you and Ryouta, huh?" he said, chuckling. Unexpected, but not surprising for her to become a model – he did like her at some point, perhaps the only girl so far that he liked in a genuine manner, but oddly enough, it slowly became that of a younger sister sort – an annoying, bossy younger sister, just as Nijimura was the hot-headed, abusive older brother.

"Eh? What do you mean?"

She was looking at him in confusion, which in turn confused him as well.

"I saw you in the magazine," he stated flatly, as if that explains everything. Besides, they were all over each other in the pictures... And didn't Kise chased after her as well?

"Oh, that." Kimiko hid a yawn behind her hand. "Can we not talk about that? It has gotten me in so much trouble I don't think even Seijuurou can fix it."

 _Seijuurou?_ "You're still friends with that-" He shut his mouth when Kimiko glared at him.

She observed him for a minute or two before she heaved a sigh. "How about we not talk about that as well?"

It was Haizaki's turn to sigh. Not wanting to get into an argument with Kimiko, he did as the girl asked, even as she steered the conversation to a safer topic. She talked of her time in France, while he shared about his life and his family's move to Shizouka, and how he was an older brother now as well (his mother had remarried on his last year in Teikou and was now seven months pregnant)-

"Is it a girl? Or a boy?"

Haizaki blinked at the girl's excitement. "Eh, Kaa-san wanted it to be a surprise."

"What would you like, though?"

He gave it some thought. "A younger brother. Girls are too troublesome," to which Kimiko kicked his shin from under the table.

They soon parted ways – Haizaki was apparently staying at a relative and was actually out on an errand before he bumped into her.

"See you around, I guess," Kimiko said with a punch to his arm. Haizaki tugged at her hair in return, then waved her away like she was some kind of a pest, to which she merely laughed before finally turning her back on the former delinquent. Her mood was considerably improved after that short chat with the gray-haired boy.

 _He seemed totally reformed,_ she mused as she walked through the glass doors of the Vermilion. _Still a bit rough around the edges, but he seemed more at peace with himself. Must be the effect of being an older brother. Good for him._

On the elevator ride to their floor, Kimiko was thinking of what she was going to say to the redhead. When nothing come up, she cursed and finally decided that she'll just improvise. _Now, here's to hoping that he won't ask anything about my early morning trip._

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Kimiko found Akashi with the rest of the team hanging out in Mibuchi and Mayuzumi's room, all five of them sitting on the floor while they played a game of Old Maid. Holding a snicker, she sat beside the redhead, took a look at his cards, then craned her neck the other way to peek at Mayuzumi's cards, who frowned and angled his hand in a way that will prevent her from seeing it.

"No peeking," he said in a mildly teasing tone.

"I'm not even playing!"

Mayuzumi shook his head and gestured at Akashi who was looking at the two of them like they were a pair of kids. "He is."

"So?"

"You'll tell him what cards I have." He reached out to Akashi's hand and picked out a card, frowning when it did not match any on his hand before holding out his cards to Mibuchi.

Kimiko wrinkled her nose at him. "How am I supposed to do that without you knowing?"

Rakuzan's phantom shrugged eloquently. "Telepathy." He frowned as Akashi tossed a pair of Kings at the center of the circle. Right now, the redhead had the least amount of cards among the five of them – three turns and he's done. Again, Mayuzumi took a card from his hand and finally breathed in relief and placed a pair of fives on the floor.

Kimiko gasped. "How did you know about that?" She widened her eyes in fake surprise, and Mayuzumi rolled his eyes when Hayama piped up, "Kimi-chan and Captain knows telepathy?"

Nebuya choked on his laughter while Mibuchi looked at the blond in exasperation.

Finally, Akashi tossed in his last pair of cards into the circle, smiling at the frustration on their faces. Four rounds and Akashi always ended up finishing first. Turning to the grinning Kimiko, he asked her where she have been so early in the morning.

"I just remembered that this is going to be our last day here in Wakayama so I bought some souvenirs." On her way back, she'd peeked into the bags and found them full of Wakayama delicacies and some trinkets. "I don't know what's going to be on today's schedule and since I am going to be on Rakuzan's bench later, I might have no time to go out and buy some."

"Is that all?" Akashi asked. For some reason, Kimiko looks a bit troubled despite her the laughter in her eyes.

"Oh, and guess who I saw earlier." Kimiko grinned. "Shougo is here. He cut classes to watch the Finals."

The name made Akashi frown. He never did get along with that Haizaki. Besides, his conduct towards the chartreusette was... not pleasant. However, Kimiko didn't seem to be upset while talking about said male.

"He's back to normal, though. No more cornrows," she was giggling as she spoke, "And he's going to be an older brother two months from now!"

"You talked?" Doubt and worry laced Akashi's voice.

She nodded. "Over coffee. Shougo's changed. Not so nasty and rude – a huge improvement, actually." Laughing at Akashi's still doubtful expression, she poked his cheek twice. "Now, now, Seijuurou, don't be like that. Shougo can still be reformed."

He blinked, feeling a tad guilty for his thoughts. True, he never did know the reason why Haizaki behaved the way he did back then, and he never did asked Kimiko and Nijimura, and they never offered either. "Of course."

Mibuchi then cut in, asking them if they would like to play Monopoly next. Akashi tried to refuse, but Kimiko of course dragged him back to the circle, and soon enough, they were trying to outdo each other in their quest for world domination, much to the chagrin of the four other players. Akashi, it seems, was even more competitive now that the chartreusette had joined in, and it was funny how the two were bantering almost childishly over their properties, only to join forces when it was the others' turn. The game went that way until lunch, where they gathered in the restaurant to dine with Shirogane Eiji and the rest of the team, after which they proceeded to the conference room for the pre-game meeting with Kimiko tagging along.

The 'War Council' as Kimiko had dubbed it proudly, was facilitated by Shirogane Eiji, Akashi, and herself. Though Rakuzan had faced Seirin before, she still listed their names and put in necessary notes, reminders on their skills and weaknesses they can exploit. She can feel the excitement building inside her, like what a predator feels as it stalks its prey, though the guilt of what she's going to do to Kuroko's team dampened it somewhat.

Hayama, ever enthusiastic, pumped his fist in the air and declared, " _Yosh!_ Revenge on Seirin!"

"Ko-chan, do shut up," Mibuchi said with a matching smack on the back of the blond's head.

"Eh, but that Kiyoshi had gone to America," Nebuya sulked.

"Heh, Nebuya's feeling betrayed," Hayama snickered on his side of the table. He yelped as he dodged Nebuya's arm. "Watch it!"

Akashi merely watched his team's antics, though he too felt exhilarated with anticipation. To face off against Kuroko and Kagami was quite an event – he can hardly wait to defeat _Seirin's_ basketball with _Rakuzan's_ basketball.

 _And then we'll show them what a true victory is._

Kimiko on the other hand was cackling evilly in her head as her brain churned up plays and strategies and wondering how her dear _Tetsuya_ is going to handle them. Ah, this is going to be a very fine match, indeed.

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The meeting took three hours, allowing them an hour and a half to prepare themselves before heading out to the gym. The team snagged a light meal on the way, and soon enough, they were walking among those who were going to watch the Finals. People stared and made way as the elite team of Kyoto passed by, headed by the one and only Akashi Seijuurou, all regal and proud like the Emperor he is, while next to him stood Kimiko Akumi, a spare Rakuzan jacket draped on her shoulders. Behind them followed the three Uncrowned Generals, looking intimidating and confident. Mayuzumi, true to his role, was unnoticed next to the imposing figure of Shirogane Eiji. When the gym doors were in sight, Kimiko broke rank and waved at a gray-haired boy off to the side.

"Shougo!"

Haizaki whirled at the familiar feminine voice, and his jaw dropped when he saw the jacket Kimiko was wearing.

 _Rakuzan_?!

Kimiko waved, and Haizaki almost froze when another familiar face appeared next to her. Crimson eyes stared at him under crimson locks, and after a momentary assessment, the glare softened somewhat as the Rakuzan team drew closer. To his surprise, Akashi slowed down enough for him to give Haizaki a proper greeting, with Kimiko latched against his arm. Not knowing how to properly respond, Haizaki merely nodded at his former vice-captain, staring at their retreating forms with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

 _Huh, guess it's him and not Ryouta, then._

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Inside their respective locker rooms, the four teams who were going to play that evening waited for their time to go out to the court. Kimiko sent good luck messages to Kise, Murasakibara, Himuro (despite the fact that they have not cleared things between them), Kuroko, and Kagami, chatted briefly with Alex on Messenger, before snapping pictures of the Rakuzan locker room for documentation purposes.

When Kaijou and Yosen were called out to the court for the third-place match, the cheers of the crowd were clearly audible to the two waiting teams. Kimiko almost regretted not being able to watch Kise and Murasakibara's game but Alex was sending her updates.

"First quarter and Yosen is leading by four," she said out loud, getting the attention of the restless basketball players around her. "No one's going all out, it seems. Yosen was known for their defense but Kaijou can keep up." She grinned. "So, bets on who's going to win this one?"

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Kise, along with his team, moved out to give way to the two teams who will be facing each other in the championship game later. Right now, they were to warm up during the halftime break, and it was just his luck that it was Rakuzan who was coming out on their way on their side.

And with the Kyoto team was one chartreusette wearing a borrowed Rakuzan jacket, the sleeves hanging uselessly on her sides just like how a certain redhead used to do so.

"Ryouta!" Kimiko chirped, and greeted the rest of the flustered Kaijou team, who was surprised at her presence before them.

"Akumicchi," he said, catching her high-five as she passed by, barely hearing her praise for ending the first half on a tie. Nodding, he went on with his team, not noticing the narrowed gaze that Akashi sent him the moment he turned his back to them.

Loud cheers from the audience greeted Seirin and Rakuzan's entrance. To Kimiko, it sent a wave of nostalgia to her, all the times that she stood there with the Teikou team for every single game they played, assured of their victory? Akashi must have read her thought as he stayed beside her and said, "Did you miss it?"

She nodded and smiled softly. "Aa."

"Then," Akashi looked at her with a meaningful gaze, and she laughed.

"I'll think about it," she said with a wrinkling of her nose. Akashi huffed silently, then led his team for their warm-up. When she approached the bench, Shirogane looked like he had something to say to her.

"Akashi might have talked to you about this before, but I would like to extend an offer for you to join our team next year," the man said as she took her seat beside.

"He did," she replied. "I'm still thinking about it though."

Even though she'd gone back to Japan, she's not sure if this was a permanent one or not, since knowing her grandfather, he was probably planning something to get her back to France. Plus, there's Akashi Masaomi to worry about. Frankly, she doesn't have a clue as to where she was supposed to be right now.

Heck, she's not even sure _who_ she is supposed to be right now.

And she had to tell _him_ everything before it all blows up in her face.

She looked on as Akashi and Kuroko had a short conversation at the middle of the court, and it seems like Akashi had said something that made Kuroko pale for a moment, a wary look on his usually blank sky blue eyes. The redhead seemed to be smug about something, and then Kuroko gave a sigh of resignation before offering a hand to Akashi, who shook it before the two returned to their respective teams. Off to the side, Kimiko can only speculate on what the two talked about.

Perhaps Akashi was the one to throw down the gauntlet this time.

He always had a flair for theatrics, after all.

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In the end, Kaijou had won by a narrow margin, with Kise spending all of his energy on the match that he can barely stand on his own feet by the time the whistle blew. With his Perfect Copy to go against Murasakibara's Zone, he had truly pushed his body to its limits. It was worth it, though.

He was Kaijou's ace.

Kaijou's Kise Ryouta.

He did not know how Kimiko knew they won the moment they did, because there was already a congratulatory message waiting for him on his phone courtesy of the chartreusette, timed a minute before the game ended. Smiling fondly despite the exhaustion he was currently feeling, Kise managed to typed in a short message of gratitude with shaky fingers before he was whisked away by his captain to the infirmary where he had the medics check his old ankle injury and to let him rest.

So rest he did.

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"Akashi-sama, it's time."

From his seat, Akashi Masaomi turned his head to the numerous screens showing the different angles of the court down below.

"Well then, show me this passion of yours, Seijuurou," he said, just as he caught sight of a familiar head of crimson. " _Let us begin."_

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Alex watched with bated breath as the two teams who will be facing each other in the last match for the Nationals made their entrance. All around her, the audience were cheering for their bets at the top of their lungs, drowning the voice of the announcer with their own.

"Here they come," she muttered, "Seirin versus Rakuzan..."

The Rakuzan team filed in an orderly manner, setting their things on their assigned spot without a fuss as the starting members removed their outer clothes to reveal their jerseys worn underneath. Akashi took Kimiko's offered water bottle and took a small sip before handing it back to her with a murmured thanks.

From their bench, Kuroko eyed the pair with a mixed expression. As if sensing him, Kimiko turned and met his gaze with her golden one, a predatory look in them that hauntingly looked like Akashi's Emperor Eye. He'd seen this before, but it was never directed at him. Rather, it was directed to those who she deemed powerful enough to handle the worst of her creations.

Kuroko gulped.

"Akumi," Akashi patted her on the shoulder to get her attention. He can already feel her getting into her game master mode, and it kind of worried him a little. If they thought that the Emperor was merciless, then they haven't seen Kimiko Akumi at her best – or worst. And he was right to be worried, though. "About the plan for the third quarter," he began with a slight frown, "do I have to-"

He stopped when she pinched his cheek. "It depends on the first half," she said, though that hardly reassured him at all. Her eyes flickered to where the Seirin team was, and her voice dropped as she looked him in the eyes. "Let's just hope that Tetsuya and his team can put up a fight, eh?"

The overhead speaker crackled, and Kimiko stepped back. "It's time," and the four other regulars gathered around her and Akashi. "A few words, Captain?"

Akashi narrowed his eyes as he addressed Mibuchi, Hayama, Nebuya, and Mayuzumi. "Seirin may have defeated us the last time, but the team that had faced them was not the team that we are now." At this, Kimiko hid a small smile as she glanced at the clipboard in her hands. "We will win. Anything less is unacceptable." He looked each of his team mates in the eye as if to confirm something in them. Satisfied, he nodded at them. "Rakuzan will be the one to bring home the title tonight. _Iku zo,_ " he said, just as Seirin's battle cry echoed from their side.

"Ne, can we do that?" Hayama said.

Mibuchi frowned. "Eh, no offense, but I think it's barbaric."

"Ask Nebuya – he can shout for the three of us," Mayuzumi added, not really keen on cheering and all that. Sure, the team might be more friendly now, but something about group yells just not sit with the image of the Kyoto team.

"Too undignified for you?" Kimiko chuckled, remembering how, even in Teikou, they do not do such things until she came and forced them to. Good thing Nijimura was supportive of her back then.

Akashi can only shake his head when Nebuya let out a loud burp in response, not really paying attention to what was being discussed at the moment, successfully getting the attention of their shooting guard who immediately launched into a lecture on manners and how rude it was of Nebuya to do that in front of a lady.

"Eh, but I am standing behind her," Nebuya defended, pointing at the chartreusette who was now talking to Akashi about their game plan for the first quarter.

"I am talking about me!" Mibuchi hissed, getting a doubtful look from the center in return. Their bickering was only stopped when the announcer began to speak once more.

" **Before we start, let us introduce the two teams. First, wearing the black and red uniform and the champions of last year's Winter Cup, Seirin High School. Coach, Aida Riko."**

The second year stood up and offered a small bow to everyone.

" **Number eleven, Kuroko Tetsuya."**

 _We accept your challenge, Akumi-san, Akashi-kun,_ the blue-haired boy thought as he adjusted the sweatbands on his wrists.

" **Number ten, power forward, Kagami Taiga."**

 _I'll beat you again, Akashi,_ Kagami thought, barely able to hide his excitement at facing such a formidable opponent again.

" **Number eight, center, Mitobe Ryuunosuke."**

Mitobe took in a deep breath. He had a big responsibility today as he is expected to fill in Kiyoshi's spot. He wondered if he can meet those expectations.

" **Number five, point guard, Izuki Shun."**

Like Mitobe, Izuki has all rights to be nervous. His main mark would be Akashi himself, and though the boy seemed to be more friendly than the last time, he would be a fool to think that he won't be coming at Seirin with the intent to crush them all the same.

" **And the captain, Number Four, shooting guard, Hyuga Junpei."**

" _Yosha!_ " he roared, joining the rest of the team on the court, steeling his mind for what Rakuzan might have in store for them this time. He was sure that it was nothing pleasant, no matter how Akashi seemed to be fond of Kuroko. Plus, there was that golden-eyed girl with them this time.

" **Next, wearing the white and light blue uniforms, the winner of last year's InterHigh Tournament, Rakuzan High School, with their coach, Shirogane Eiji."**

The man simply stood there like a proud general as his troops were called and assembled on the battlefield.

" **And their starting players, center, number eight, Nebuya Eikichi."**

Nebuya flexed his muscles and gave a loud roar of anticipation. He'd eaten quite a lot for this game, and even though Kiyoshi was not here, he knew not to underestimate the Seirin players.

" **Small forward, number seven, Hayama Kotarou."**

Smirking, Hayama stood beside Nebuya with a manic look on his face, eager to get back at Seirin. _How much did they improve since then?_

" **Shooting guard, number six, Mibuchi Reo."**

The raven-haired Yasha smiled at the discomfort on Hyuga's face as he approached them. "Nice to see you again, Junpei- _chan~"_

" **Power forward, number five, Mayuzumi Chihiro."**

Seirin was understandably surprised at Mayuzumi's presence, expecting him to have resigned already being a third year and all, but there he is, taking his rightful place with his team. As usual, he had his blank face that matched the one on Seirin's own phantom sixth man, but Kagami swore that he saw his partner's eyes narrow in annoyance upon seeing the older boy whom Akashi had proclaimed as his _replacement._

" **And their captain, point guard, number four, Akashi Seijuurou."**

"Go get them, Seijuurou," Kimiko purred as Akashi joined his team, lined up and facing Seirin at the middle of the court. To Kuroko, he nodded an acknowledgement, and said, "Let's go all out, Kuroko."

"Of course, Akashi-kun," was the phantom's reply just as the referee came and ordered them to bow.

"Let's have a good game!"

She pushed back an errant lock of chartreuse hair behind an ear. "Now then, time for the final tip-off."

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	39. 第39章

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 **逃亡皇后**

ーThe Runaway Empressー

 **by Amanozako-hime**

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 **第** **38** **章**

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— **金** **曜日** **(20xx** **年** **2** **月** **13** **日** **) —**

 **** Wakayama, Japan ****

 **和歌山** **、日本**

The game started calm, taking everyone by surprise since they were expecting them to go full power right off the bat. Seirin wanted to, but Rakuzan was controlling the pace, defending skillfully against Seirin's run-and-gun style by stopping all attempts on fast break. Kuroko was having a hard time as Mayuzumi shut him down for the most part, and Kagami was not yet in the Zone, as unlike Aomine, he cannot enter it by simply willing it. And with Rakuzan playing the way they are right now, it's simply not enough to trigger it.

"What are they getting at?" Riko muttered as she watched Hyuga struggle against Mibuchi's defense. Their opponents were too composed for someone who were playing their revenge match, and that set her on edge. She looked to the side and saw Kimiko sitting on Rakuzan's bench, legs crossed elegantly like a queen on her throne. Glancing at the scoreboard, she saw that half of the first quarter had gone by and the score was 19-11, in favor of the players in white.

 _Heh, they're getting uneasy alright,_ Kimiko thought. She knew that they expected a fierce showing from Rakuzan, but that was for later. Might as well play with them first. She just hoped that Kuroko had at least warned his team. _He certainly did,_ she decided a minute later when Kagami gave her a look when he ran past her. She smirked.

Right before the end of the quarter, Hyuga got a foul when Mibuchi executed an Earth Shot hidden behind his Void. It was enough to send the glasses-wearing captain of Seirin to be leery of his opponent, not wanting to get fouled out so early in the game. Mitobe was certainly a challenge, but when it comes to power, Nebuya was more than enough. But what amused her was Kuroko's thinly veiled annoyance at Mayuzumi, who was wearing his best poker face at the moment.

 _Ah, I wonder what Seijuurou will think of it,_ she laughed inwardly. _Someone's still jealous, I suppose. Didn't expect that from you, Tetsuya, but I understand._ Poor boy must have been shaken when the redhead just proclaimed that he had found someone better – _eh, that sounded... wrong._

First quarter ended with 24-18. Acceptable enough. The bench players gave way for the regulars who were barely exhausted.

"So, what is your judgment?" Akashi asked beside her. Shirogane was content to let the girl handle the reins, wanting to test her in case she did enrol in Rakuzan this coming spring, highly likely due to her relationship with Akashi. Seeing first-hand the iron hand in a velvet glove with which she used to direct the team, Shirogane now knew why his older brother was so fond of the girl.

 _They were just too much alike._

"We'll proceed as agreed in the meeting. Kagami will be entering the Zone soon, and I want to get as much points as we can. We'll be needing Reo's three pointers for that, though Seijuurou will contribute as well. Chihiro is doing a good job guarding Tetsuya, but I believe he'll be doing something to change that, so do not be surprised if his passes begin to work again. Another foul on Hyuga would be nice. "

If addressing the rest of them by their first names without honorific did not surprise them, then the cold glint in her eyes did. Kimiko had pretty thrown them off by being so cheerful and full of mischief that they were fully unprepared as she transitioned to this persona that made her known as the demon fox in the days of her early reign in Teikou. Mayuzumi was in a way relieved that this is going to be his last game with Rakuzan. It really seems that they are going to have another golden-eyed tyrant waiting to join their ranks, and he'd rather not go through all of that _again_.

Akashi pulled her aside, and there was nothing on their faces that betrayed their emotions. He was the captain, and she was their coach. "Akumi, for the last time, is _it_ really necessary?"

"It is. And you will be needing it once Tetsuya figures something out," she replied. "He's just as crafty as you and me, Seijuurou."

He stared at her with a hard expression, though not unkindly. "I trust you on this."

"As do I with asking you to do this." She squeezed his hand briefly before sending him back on the court. When he was out of earshot, she whispered, "And you'll thank me later for this, I promise."

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As Kimiko had predicted, Kagami entered the Zone three minutes after the match resumed. Rakuzan was still pretty calm, though Seirin was now only two baskets behind them. Kuroko did manage to outsmart Mayuzumi now and then, but what unnerved him was how the older boy was almost expecting him to. Plus, Akashi was abandoning his role as a point guard and was making shots himself, even more than Mibuchi, as they kept outside Kagami's defense. Even though there was a brief moment when Kagami had held Rakuzan scoreless while Seirin made five baskets in succession, Akashi seemed indifferent. Kuroko thinks he'd be more disappointed if Kagami did not manage to do as much, as they were the ones who managed to topple the Emperor the last time. He might possess a Quasi-Emperor Eye, but it's not Akashi's moves that he should be reading, rather, it should be that green-haired menace on Rakuzan's bench, but she is anything but predictable.

Still, Seirin managed to keep the score gap by a mere five points by the end of the first half. However, inside Seirin's locker room, Riko was frustrated. Something tells her that the real battle had not yet begun, and Kagami was already using his Zone on the first stage.

Kuroko echoed her sentiments when he spoke up in his quiet voice, "The second half will be very different from how we were playing so far." Rakuzan was a hell of a team, and without Kiyoshi, Seirin was considerably weakened. "I think it's best to use Kagami's Direct Drive Zone for the last quarter, but it might be too late by then."

"Tch. And those guys don't even seem to tire at all!" Kagami growled. "Just what kind of training do they have?"

"Something you wouldn't want to do, Kagami-kun," because Emperor or not, Akashi was merciless when it comes to such things. The results were rewarding, of course. The means are a different matter altogether. Puking your guts out after every training is not a pleasant thing to experience.

Kuroko sighed. Kimiko helping Rakuzan was just making things worse for his team. During his time with them in Teikou, Kuroko had played countless games against the two. With Akashi, it's always a pain trying to see through the game you think he's playing to see the game he's actually playing. Kimiko, on the other hand, played like she was more interested on what move her opponent is going to make instead of winning the game (she still wins in the end though). Thinking back, Midorima was the only one he can play board games with without risking his sanity.

He needs to figure something out, and quick. Seirin is not going down without a fight.

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Third quarter was, for lack of a better word, _intense._ Like what Kimiko had said, Seirin was pulling out everything in their arsenal to stop Rakuzan from completely overwhelming them. Unfortunately for Kuroko, he had to be benched for a while since he was hardly of any help inside the court - not when Akashi was perfectly reading into his every pass. Instead, he helped Riko construct plays that might work against Rakuzan, who all but dominated the game if not for Kagami and Hyuga, who tried to answer every time Rakuzan delivers.

To the horror of Seirin, Rakuzan was able to extend the lead to ten points once more, thus when the score turned 78-66 in favor of the Kyoto team, Seirin called for a time-out.

Kagami sat heavily on the bench, greedily gulping the water that was handed to him by Kuroko. Wiping his sweat with his towel, Kagami cannot help but think of a certain redhead.

 _Damn him,_ he thought without malice, _he really is an amazing guy._

Even when he is in Zone, the much shorter captain of Rakuzan had been able to guard him with the least effort, all the while guiding his own team mates on what to do. He listened as their coach Riko shared what she and Kuroko had managed to come up with to somehow lessen the gap. He would feel more confident if his shadow was with him on court but with the fast pace of the game, Kuroko had to rest if he was to help them out in the last stretch. Grinning despite the exhaustion he was already feeling, he bumped fists with the bluenette before heading back to court, intent on giving Rakuzan hell for the last three minutes of the third quarter.

When the whistle blew for the fourth quarter, Kuroko stood up and adjusted the sweatbands on his wrists. This is it, the last ten minutes, do or die. Whether Seirin can catch up or not will be answered in the span of ten minutes. 88-81, mere seven points, but it seemed to be much more when Kuroko compared the state of their team to their opponent. It was frustrating how Akashi seemed unruffled despite the fact that he was the one marking Kagami. Despite the sweat staining his crimson locks to a darker hue, Akashi was not one to show sign of his fatigue, though he can see that his breathing was a bit harsher than usual.

It was Rakuzan's ball, and as usual, Akashi was the one who has it, dribbling it calmly as the players took their positions. In a flurry of passes, the ball flew from one member to another before Hayama broke rank and scored a quick lay-up, evading Izuki.

"Don't rest yet, Seirin," Akashi said when it was their turn to defend. "Not yet. We haven't had our _proper_ revenge on you yet." He almost smirked at the expressions on their faces - insulted yet determined.

"Who says we would let you?" Kagami growled, and in that moment, Akashi did smirked.

"Took you this long, Kagami Taiga," he murmured as his sharp eyes caught the change in Seirin's movements as their ace's Direct Drive Zone took effect.

"This game just got much more interesting."

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Kimiko watched the game with calculating eyes. Rakuzan had the momentum for all three quarters, not giving Seirin a chance of reprieve. She knew - and Kuroko too - that Rakuzan had the advantage in this match in more ways than one. She's not saying that Seirin is weak, but Rakuzan is the worst team for them to go against. It doesn't help that Kiyoshi Teppei is no longer there as well. Unless Seirin had another hidden trump card that she and Akashi cannot figure how to counter, then they were doomed.

As Rakuzan and Seirin duked it out on the court, Akashi's Perfect Rhythm clashing with Kagami's Direct Drive Zone, she grinned as the lead was cut into four. Just two baskets and they will be tied once more with just four minutes on the clock.

 _Anytime now, Seijuurou._

Having deduced where the blind spot of Izuki's Eagle Eye is, Akashi cut back, allowing Hayama to pull a screen on the other point guard. However, the redhead found one Kuroko Tetsuya waiting for him on the other side, having predicted his movement by his Quasi-Emperor Eye. As they faced off, two former Teikou players, Akashi blinked almost lazily, and when he opened his eyes once again, he saw Kuroko staring back with a stupefied expression on his face.

Gold eye glinting with amusement, he asked, "Was it too soon, _Tetsuya?"_

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" _I know for sure that they will be saving Kagami's skill for last," Kimiko said, tapping the marker on the board. "And even though I am positive that you guys are much better in terms of individual skill, Seirin is a team that is best when it comes to teamwork. And there's Kuroko's Quasi-Emperor Eye to deal with."_

" _So what do you propose we do to stop them?" Mayuzumi asked in that quiet voice of his._

" _It's simple, really." Turning to the red-haired boy beside her, she stated evenly, "The Emperor has to come back."_

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Seirin immediately called for a time-out as soon as Riko was made aware of the reappearance of the Emperor on the court. As if they don't have enough to worry about. They were basically throwing all the plays she could think off and mixing their tactics with the ones that worked against Rakuzan before, but so far, nothing worked. Akashi was easily neutralizing all efforts of cutting him off from his team, plus all the plays that Rakuzan had been using was not the usual that they had been anticipating.

 _It must be because of her,_ Riko grumbled. Kimiko Akumi's presence on Rakuzan's bench was an unpleasant surprise, as even Kuroko himself cannot think of anything to use against her tactics, but to think that she would actually use the Emperor?

 _Ruthless,_ Hyuga thought.

Right now, their team was hanging by a mere thread, thanks to Kagami and Kuroko's effort, but it was not enough to topple Rakuzan, who stubbornly kept the four-point lead zealously. Exhaustion seeped into their bones but they can't give up here.

Kuroko tried hard to calm his racing heart at seeing that eye again. How was it possible? He had thought that after Winter Cup, Akashi won't be able to use that again. Sure, he can still ankle break and predict movements, but not as much as he would have had he still possess the Emperor Eye. _What was Akumi-san thinking?_

Kimiko was waiting for them on the bench, tossing towels at them as they pass her by. Akashi was the last to sit down, taking a seat between Mibuchi and Hayama who was guzzling down their water.

"Do you need a drink, Akashi?"

Akashi raised his head to face the speaker, who was none other than Mayuzumi, holding out a bottle of water in his direction. He didn't show any reaction upon seeing the heterochromatic eyes that had caused him so much pain months ago, and it seemed everyone in the team was watching them with bated breath as Akashi seemed to consider his offer. It felt like forever before the redhead nodded and thanked the phantom as he reached out to get it. The moment he did, it broke everyone from their stupor and sent everything to normal.

"Ah, I wonder what they are talking about over there," Hayama threw his head back to peek at Seirin's side.

"Strategy, what else?" Mibuchi huffed at the blond, before grinning sadistically. "Not that it would help them, not when we have Sei-chan here!" The last part was said in a singsong voice as he lightly bumped shoulders with their captain.

To their surprise and utmost relief, Akashi let out a low chuckle. "You think too highly of me, Reo."

Pouting, Mibuchi said, "Sei-chan~"

Kimiko cannot help herself. She giggled, shifting the attention to her.

"It's nothing," she said, waving the clipboard in her hands. She was glad that Akashi's team mates did not react badly even though they were expecting this to happen. It helped greatly that it was Mayuzumi who made the first move as he was the one who was the most affected.

However, Akashi was yet to look her in the eye.

Since Rakuzan already knows the next step, they simply sat there, resting, exchanging small banter. When Seirin's time-out ended, she waited until the last moment to put a hand on Akashi's shoulder, causing him to turn back in surprise. Locking gazes with the wide-eyed Akashi, she smiled and said, "Give them hell, Seijuurou."

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Frustration was all the Seirin players can feel as the seconds slowly trickled, until only there was only two minutes left. With the reawakening of Akashi's Emperor Eye backed with the coordinated moves of the three Uncrowned Kings, it was like having the Generation of Miracles pressing down on them. Merciless was the only way to describe it as once again, every window of opportunity was shut down brutally. Still, they fought on, and Hyuga, Seirin's ever reliable captain managed to pull a four-point play against Mibuchi by using his own move against him.

Seirin's bench cheered as Hyuga landed his free throw.

"Not again," Mibuchi whispered to himself in self-disgust. "I-"

A light tap on his shoulder cut him off and he found himself staring at their captain.

"Sei-chan-"

"Don't worry, Reo-senpai!" Kimiko shouted from Rakuzan's bench. "One minute is more than enough!"

An amused smile pulled at the redhead's lips. "Akumi can be quite the loudmouth when the situation calls for it." He nodded at the direction of the scoreboard. "She's right. There is still time. Let's go."

"We can do this! SEIRIN, FIGHT!"

"DEFENSE! DEFENSE!"

" _Sasenai yo."_

Kimiko saw it before anyone else. Rising from her seat, she yelled out, "Counter!" just as Kuroko's hand made contact with the ball.

"Kuroko!" Izuki shouted, but it was too late. Before the ball can reach Kagami, a red blur intercepted it in its path.

" _Modore!"_ Riko ordered her team to fall back and defend. The audience was cheering wildly, rooting for their chosen teams. They cannot fail here - if Rakuzan makes this shot, then it will be all over. Seirin has to get the ball and score. They cannot risk having an overtime: Rakuzan has them beat over stamina.

"DEFENSE! DEFENSE!"

Unleashing his Zone, Akashi evaded his pursuers who were later taken care of by his teammates, clearing the way to the basket for him. However, he can feel a certain someone closing in from behind.

"AKASHI!"

"Hmp. This is where it ends, Kagami Taiga," Akashi said, jumping up as if to shoot. Kagami, falling for it, jumped up as well to stop him, only to be surprised when Akashi made an elbow pass from behind. _Mayuzumi!_

As Kagami whirled around to look for the second phantom, he failed to see the smirk on Akashi's face as he took a step back and took to the air once more, catching the orange ball that whizzed past Kagami's head for a graceful one-handed alley-oop, the buzzer sounding just as his shoes touched the hardwood floor.

"The winner of this game is Rakuzan."

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 _We lost...?_ Kagami stood rooted to his spot below the basket, staring dumbly at his feet, when a hand entered his line of vision.

"It was a good game," Akashi said, offering a hand to Seirin's ace. While he was waiting for Kagami to accept the handshake, the other players had gathered around them, watching the display of sportsmanship between the two aces.

Kagami blinked. "Ah," he said, the word sounding strangled so he cleared his throat before continuing. "It was," he agreed and took Akashi's paler hand in his. "We will win next time."

Akashi smirked devilishly. "As if we will let you."

"You can try," Kagami shot back good-naturedly.

And with that, the Nationals came to an end.

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End file.
